Love is Lost
by SubjectDeltaBubz
Summary: AU. Zuko's life begins to change once he gets a new neighbor, either for better or for worse. Jinko, Zu Lee, Kataang, Tokka and many more pairings
1. New Neighbor

The steady beat of her heart rang in his ear, in her sleep, she always held his head against her chest. He would have slithered out of her grasp if her fingers weren't deep in the mane that he called hair. It was getting pretty long and he had continued to forget to get it cut. Even if he had gotten it cut, he still enjoyed the feeling of being held close against her chest. He hadn't had this closeness with a girl since his childhood when his Mother held him to sooth his cries. Her grip loosened on him and she rolled onto her back, her chest now exposed to the sun's rays peeking into the room, as if trying to get a look at her. Pushing himself up, he rolled his stiff neck, his silky hair moving along his back and shoulders. Moving off the bed, his bare feet quietly slapped against the hardwood floor as he left the room and walked into his bathroom. He was glad that today was a day where his Uncle and sister weren't going to be home until the afternoon, there was no worry about either of them walking in on them. He shut the door behind him and stared at himself in the mirror. His fingers traced the scar below his golden eye, the only flaw on his otherwise perfect skin. Staring at the long hair that came down past his shoulders, he felt the need to cut it now. The hair that took him hours to keep clean and nice, the only reminder of his Father was now getting bothersome. His hand dug through his drawers and found a pair of scissors while his other hand gathered his hair as if to put it in a ponytail. One side of him told him not to go with such a drastic haircut while the other side cheered him on. He gave into the latter and cut his hair, tossing the remains into the garbage can. Looking through his drawers again, he found his head clippers and cleaned up his hair. Once he was done, he looked at his short hair, running his hand over it. "Woah," He turned to see her standing in the doorway, the door slightly ajar. Her nutmeg colored hair going down her back and his pillow covering her exposed areas, her stormy orbs looking at him with amazement, "You cut it all off…"

He set down the clippers and looked back into the mirror, "Yeah…"

She approached him and looked at him in the mirror, "You look even more handsome, you can really pull off this look."

"Thanks," He smiled. She crossed the bathroom to the shower, pulling the knob for the water to come out. Looking over her left shoulder at him, she gave him a wink. "Now?" He asked, she bit her bottom lip and nodded. Leaving the hair in the sink, he followed her into the shower and shut the curtain behind him. She let the water wet her hair down as his arms went around the small of her back, he placed a soft kiss on her neck, "How did you sleep?"

"I slept with you, so it was wonderful," She gasped when he pulled her closer to his body. He tucked an offending strand of hair from her face behind her ear and kissed her on the lips. "So what made you want to get rid of your hair?"

They switched positions and he let the water wash away any small bits of hair left, "I don't know, it was kind of a spur of the moment type thing and I thought it would be better if it was only my girlfriend who had long hair." She smiled at his joke and gave him another kiss.

"Can I be honest with you?" He nodded, "I didn't really like your long hair, though I could give you a yank if you were being mean." She ran her hand over his head, "You look a lot better with shorter hair and you don't look like an evil villain from a Kung-Fu movie anymore." A yelp escaped her when he picked up and pressed her against the tiled wall, his hands cupping her well-toned butt.

He pressed her forehead against hers, "You think you're so funny don't you?" He was surprised her wide smile didn't crack her perfect face.

"I do," She flirtatiously answered, pressing her lips against his. There was a brief silence as they stared into each other's eyes, "I love you Zuko…" Her heart felt air born as she spoke those words to him. Though their relationship had passed many levels of intimacy and feelings, neither of them had seriously uttered those words to each other. They remained still in each other's grasp as the words processed through Zuko's mind, she could see the usual 'deer in the headlights' look he got when surprised. He was always prepared for everything, like his Uncle's usual confusing advice, his sister's negative attitude and the attacks of his opponents in Martial Arts, but when it came to her, he was never prepared.

His eyes blinked a couple times as it seemed that he came back to reality. He kissed her one more time, "I love you too Ty, I truly mean it." Ty Lee smiled and kissed him back, deepening the kiss. A moan erupted from her throat as he pressed himself into her, a stirring from both of their loins were brought to their attention. He looked down between them and back at her, "Do you…"

"I would love to, but I have to hang out with your sister this afternoon," She pouted, but her usual smile quickly returned, "But you can wash my hair for me!"

He rolled his eyes, "Same old Ty Lee." Setting her down, he grabbed some shampoo as she went under the water. Lathering the creamy tan substance between his hands, he ran his fingers through her wet hair, making sure to massage the scalp, she moaned softly. "What are you and my sister up to today?" Zuko made small talk.

She shrugged, "I think she wants to go shopping for the beach trip on Thursday."

"You girls are going to be there for four days and you all have enough clothes for a full year," Zuko sighed, he went down her long hair, the end going down to her lower back. "Why do you need to get more clothes?"

"For the cute boys of course," She answered in her usual bubbly voice, his hands stopped and she realized what she said, "I meant for your sister and Mai, you know I would never cheat on you."

He finished with her hair and stuck his hands under the water to wash them off, "Yeah, it's just always so great to see guys always trying to impress you…" He grumbled.

Ty Lee smiled as she rinsed her hair, "You are so jealous Zuko, you need to relax sometimes, let loose. Maybe you can come with us to the beach, I can try to talk Azula into it and we can _share_ a _room_," She sang the last couple words. "It will be great to fall asleep in your arms every night and actually wake up in them."

Zuko grabbed his own shampoo and put a little in his hand, massaging it into his scalp, "As much as I would love to, no. I'm not a beach type of guy." They switched positions again and he washed the soap out, "Just…_promise_ me that you won't get drunk and do something stupid, okay?"

"Of course Zuko," She smiled, "I don't drink _that_ much anyways."

"I know, but when you're with my sister, she always seems to have some control over you," He said as she soaped herself up, his eyes raking over her beautiful lithe form. "She has a way of talking you into things you usually wouldn't ever do."

Ty Lee handed him the soap, "Like when she talked me into dating _you_?" She smiled as they moved again.

Zuko ran the bar of soap over his arm, "That's different. You don't regret being with me. Playing volleyball in the small bikini with all those guys around, now that's a different story."

She frowned, "But you were right there and covered me up."

"And now I won't be," Zuko finished and washed himself off. He shut off the shower and reached out and grabbed a towel off one of the hooks, wrapping it around Ty Lee's body, "I just want to make sure nothing stupid happens."

She gave him a kiss, "I promise nothing will happen." Ty Lee nearly skipped back into his room while he grabbed his own towel and dried himself off. Tying the towel tightly around his waist, he followed her, but stopped when he saw himself in the mirror. It was strange to see himself so differently now from just a small change, but he looked like a completely different person. He shrugged it off and went into his room to get dressed.

* * *

He bounced the ball twice before jumping up and letting the ball roll off his fingers, it went perfectly into the hoop, the satisfying sound of the connection of rubber and net met his ears. It bounced perfectly back to him and he bounced the ball again. The door opened and his sister led the small group of girls out of the door, it was like watching an army of heiresses going to war, their bags swayed at the same time, their heels clicked at the same time and smug look on their faces were the same. The only two that stood out were Ty Lee and Mai, neither of them owned a designer label piece of clothing nor did they have giant purses. Ty Lee had her hair up in her usual braid, making him miss how cute she looked when she wore it down. "Hello dumb-dumb," His sister smiled. "Is it laundry day already?" He looked down at his black tank top and red shorts.

"I'm playing basketball?" Zuko said with an upward inflection, "Why would I wear nice clothing?"

Azula pulled at the fabric of the tank top, "At least you could have bought something a little more expensive than _this_." The girls behind her snickered, except for Mai and Ty Lee.

"I got these for like 10 bucks, it was a great deal and last time I checked, they don't make Prada basketball shorts," Zuko said. Bouncing the ball twice again, he shot the ball and it went in again. "Plus, I don't feel like draining Mom and Dad's inheritance money."

Her face dropped, "That's not funny."

"It wasn't supposed to be," Zuko replied. The girls continued past him, he gave Ty Lee a kiss as she went by and got into Azula's car. It quickly peeled out as he took another shot, the ball hit the side of the metal rim and rolled down his driveway. Zuko sighed and jogged down the driveway to get the ball as it made its way into the road, he stopped it with his foot before the moving van in front of him hit it. The man in the van gave him a glance before pulling into the driveway to Zuko's left. A smaller car followed behind, an older woman was in the driver's seat with a young girl, around his age, sat in the back, a bored look on her face. She noticed him as they drove by, her eyes lighting up when she made eye contact with him. They parked beside the van as he picked up his ball and went back to his hoop. After a couple more shots, he couldn't help but turn around and look at the new family. The Father brought in the heavy loads while the Mother emptied the car, the girl with the olive green eyes leaned against the car door, playing with her plaits, her eyes glanced over to him, but quickly went back to the ground. He shrugged it off and went back to playing basketball, he couldn't help himself but look back a couple times at the girl. She occasionally helped her parents bring a couple things inside, but most of the time she stayed outside and watched him. It was only a couple minutes later that his Uncle's beat up car pulled up into the driveway, the graying man somehow maneuvered his big gut out of the car and straightened his shirt.

"Hello Nephew," The older man smiled, "How are you this fine afternoon?"

He bounced the ball a couple times, "Uh, good I guess. Why are you so happy Uncle?"

"Because it's a great day Zuko," He replied, Iroh deeply inhaled, "Summer time is upon us and it rarely comes by Zuko, make sure you stop to smell the Fire Lilies." The older man noticed his eyes somewhere else and looked behind him to see the family moving their things into the house, "Nephew, have you welcomed our new neighbors to the neighborhood yet?"

Zuko shook his head, "No, why would I?"

Iroh sighed in disappointment, "Nephew, you have to welcome our neighbors and be kind and courteous. Remember, 'Anyone can buy a good house, but good neighbors are priceless'."

He cocked an eyebrow, "You are seriously just a book of those aren't you?"

"Come on Zuko, let's go introduce ourselves." Iroh led the way, Zuko stuck the ball in the small space between the back board and rim and followed him. As they arrived the Father came out with the girl with the olive green eyes followed. "Hello neighbors, welcome to the neighborhood." Iroh smiled, "I'm Iroh Agni."

The man extended his hand to meet Iroh's, "Thank you, I'm Bo Cheng and this is my daughter, Jin." She looked at Zuko briefly before looking away again. "Jin say 'hello' to our neighbors."

"Hello," She nodded to them and grabbed her things from the car then went back into the house.

Mr. Cheng sighed deeply, "I'm sorry for my daughter, she wasn't very happy about moving here. She left her good-for-nothing boyfriend two states over." Zuko raised an eyebrow at the man, he apparently was very open to people he had just met. "I'm sorry, where are my manors, is this your son?"

Iroh let out a laugh, his large stomach jiggling with his laughter, "No, I am much too old to have a son this young." He put his hand on Zuko's shoulder, he eyed his Uncle's hand. "Zuko here is my nephew and his sister Azula is currently away at the moment, but I'm sure you'll see her in due time."

"Well it's nice to meet you Zuko," He stuck his hand out to the teen, Zuko eyed it for a second before shaking it.

"Would you like some help with your things Mr. Cheng?" Iroh asked, Zuko nearly growled as he saw what was coming, "I'm sure my Nephew would love to help."

Much to Zuko's relief, he shook his head, "Thank you for offering, but my son is on his way here and will be here to help. My worry is currently on my daughter though, she has trouble putting herself out there to meet new people, you know?" Zuko did his best to not roll his eyes, this man would give away his deepest secrets if you asked nicely enough.

"Zuko, how about you and Jin spend some time together?" Iroh asked him, he went ridged, no matter what it seemed that Iroh could get him into things he didn't want to do. "Whenever she is free, send her over and of course when you're all settled, you can all come for dinner and my famous tea."

"As famous as the Jasmine Dragon's tea?"

Iroh smiled, "I actually _own_ the Jasmine Dragon. It's good to hear news about my shop has gotten around."

"I was told your shop was one of the first places I would have to stop by, I guess having you as my neighbor is my first sign of good luck in Ba Sing Se," Mr. Cheng smiled.

"Fortune favors the bold Mr. Cheng, I hope you came to Ba Sing Se like many of us have," Iroh cryptically replied, he smiled, "I hope to meet the rest of your family later Mr. Cheng, until tonight." They walked back over to the house and Zuko glanced towards him.

"You were talking to me about being nice to the neighbors and you're talking to him like a wizard giving quests," Zuko said, "Normal people don't like that Uncle."

The old man just laughed in a reply, "You'll learn one day Nephew, by the way, I like your new haircut." Zuko remembered what he did earlier and ran a hand over his short hair. "Any reason why you decided to cut your hair off?"

"I was beginning to look like my Father," Zuko replied, grabbing his ball from its previous spot. "I don't need any more reminders of him." Iroh's mood darkened along with Zuko's, "So I decided to take care of it instead of waiting."

He put a concerned hand on Zuko's shoulder, "It's not bad if you look like your Father Zuko, you won't be the same man as he is, don't forget-"

Zuko raised his hand, "Uncle, I know what you're trying to do…but please, no proverbs. I'm just thinking of this as a new part of my life." The older man nodded and patted his shoulder before walking into the house. Zuko bounced the ball twice and aligned his shot, letting it roll off his fingers, but it was off by just a little bit and came back at him. He caught it easily and sighed, knowing his mistake was too common.

"You let it roll off the wrong finger," He turned around to see Jin, she was holding her hands behind her back, not noticing that she was pushing out her ample breasts. She wore white cotton shirt underneath a dark green cardigan, both seemed a size too small for her as well as her blue jeans. Zuko tore his eyes away from her body.

"I know, I keep over thinking it," Zuko said. "You play?"

Jin nodded, "I played at my old school," Zuko spun the ball in his hands and bounce passed it to her. She eyed the ball and bounced it a few times and took a quick shot, the ball didn't even come close to going in. Zuko did his best to stop himself from laughing while her head slumped down. "It's been awhile okay?"

He grabbed the ball and walked it back over to her, "You shot with both of your hands, which hand are you dominant with?" She raised her right hand, "Okay," He walked behind her and put the ball in her right hand. "Don't use your left hand, put all your power into your right." Zuko backed off a little bit, "Now try." She attempted another shot, it bounced off the backboard and into the hoop. Jin jumped up excitedly and clapped her hands.

"Thank you Zuko," She smiled, he gave her a nod in response as he retrieved the ball again. "So, how long have you lived here?" Jin asked as he bounced the ball as he walked back over.

Zuko shrugged, "Like 10 years. My sister and I moved in with my Uncle after our parents died."

She frowned, "I'm sorry to hear that Zuko."

"It's fine, not your fault," Zuko took a shot and made it in perfectly. "Your Dad was talking about you leaving your boyfriend back where you moved."

Jin smiled, "Sad that you can't hook up with the new girl?"

He surprised himself when he laughed, he didn't know why it was funny to him, "No, I have a girlfriend, we've been together for 10 months now. I was just making small talk." Zuko didn't see the smile fade from her face, "Your Dad really likes to give away your life story doesn't he?"

"My Father is an ass," She said, "Whenever we would stop somewhere, all he did was bad mouth my boyfriend, saying that he's 'such a bad influence'," Jin mocked her Father's voice poorly.

Zuko grabbed the ball and spun the ball on his finger, "What's with your Father's hatred of him?"

"It's because he thinks Lee took my virginity," She answered, "Oh, my boyfriend's name is Lee by the way." Zuko furrowed his brow at the name, but let it go as he bounced the ball twice before readying his shot, "Apparently over the pants action now means you lose your virginity." He gave Jin a weird look, "Too much info?"

"A little," He answered truthfully as he shot the ball again, making it perfect again. "I know where you got it from though. You guys put your trust easily into people."

"I've learned to pick and choose the people," Jin said as he passed her the ball, she shot the ball, but it bounced off the rim, "You haven't given me a reason to not trust you so far." He grabbed the ball and turned back to her, "Nothing about your actions seem to be unwelcoming."

"Really?"

Jin nodded, "I've studied body language. You have an open posture, you've kept eye contact with me for most of the conversation and you have an upright stance. That shows that you're approachable and trustworthy, _that's_ why it seems so easy to just pour out my thoughts to you." He bounced the ball a couple times, "Or maybe I'm wrong and you're not trusting and don't want to make friends with the girl next door."

Her big green eyes stared at him almost like a puppy dogs and a pout that would make a little girl jealous. "I guess I could use more friends." She smiled as he shot his last basket and made it. Zuko smelt the wafting scent of his Uncle's tea, "Do you like tea?" Jin nodded with a smile. He grabbed his basketball, "Then you'll love Uncle's tea."

* * *

Jin sat at the bar that was attached to the rest of the kitchen counters, a sliding glass door to Zuko's backyard was behind her and between her and the door was a dining table. Zuko sat on the counter on the other side as his Uncle grabbed 3 small black cups. He set them down on the counter and grabbed the kettle from the stove, "This is the best quality tea I have. It brings people from across the country just to have a sip." He carefully poured the tea into the cups and slid one over to Jin, "Tell me what you think." She lifted the cup up to her lips and took a slow sip, letting her taste buds soak up the overloading flavors.

She swallowed the tea, "That's the best tea I've ever tasted Mr. Iroh. What is in it?"

He laughed, "It's my own secret blend that I won't even tell Zuko."

"Because I _really_ want to know," He mumbled before drinking his tea, Jin softly giggled as Iroh was just left confused.

"I can understand why you are the best tea brewer in Ba Sing Se Mr. Iroh, I think I'll have to stop by your shop," Jin drank the rest of her cup, licking the small amount of tea that were left on her lips. "May I have some more?"

Iroh smiled, "Of course Jin." He leaned over to Zuko, "I like her," Iroh whispered, Zuko rolled his eyes as Jin just gave him a smile. "So Jin, if you don't mind me asking, what brings your family to Ba Sing Se?"

"My Father's job," Jin told him, trying to be as respectful as possible while talking about her Father to the older man. "Even though we could have lived a great life where we were, more money and less responsibility will always catch my Father's eye."

Iroh brought the kettle back over and poured her another cup, "Well, hopefully he will enjoy the job, that's the most important part. Though the money might help with these houses, this house alone cost a pretty penny on a tea brewer's salary," He laughed, putting the kettle back on the stove.

"Well I'm just glad that there are nice people around here," Jin said, "I've never really had to make new friends since I was younger."

"Don't worry Jin, my nephew will get you accustomed quick," Iroh patted Zuko on the shoulder. "You can meet his little group."

Jin snickered lightly, "You have a 'little group' Zuko?"

"It's just some friends from school," Zuko said, crossing his arms across his chest.

"How about you invite Jin to that party you're going to tonight Zuko? She can meet everyone," Zuko squeezed his eyes shut and pinched the bridge of his nose, his Uncle always wanted him to be sociable. While he thought Jin was a nice girl, he barely knew anything about her. What if she turned out to be some crazy stalker or something? The last thing he needed was any of the group members mad at him again. "That girl Katara is really nice with new people."

"That's perfectly fine Mr. Iroh," Jin told him, "I wouldn't want to intrude on Zuko's friend's party. It would be rude of me to invite myself."

"You can come," Zuko finally spoke up, "It might be a little awkward at first, but it shouldn't be a problem."

"Thank you Zuko," She smiled, but her face dropped when she felt her phone vibrate and she pulled it out of her pocket. Jin growled lightly, "My Father wants me back to help, my brother finally arrived. Thank you for the tea Mr. Iroh." She quickly gulped down the tea in front of her.

He nodded, "Of course Jin and I hope to see you all tonight for dinner, would 6 be a good time for your family?"

"I think so, I'll be sure to come over and tell you if it can't work Mr. Iroh. See ya later," Jin gave Zuko a small wave before leaving.

Iroh breathed deeply and exhaled with a smile on his face, "She really is a sweet girl. You be nice to her Zuko, I would like to see someone around here that enjoys tea."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Zuko mumbled as he went to his room.

**-SDB**


	2. Leap Of Faith

**Hey everybody, thanks for the reviews. It's good to know that people like it. If you haven't seen or heard I've gotten a Twitter so you guys can talk to me more personally and it's a lot faster (in my opinion) than on here. So, if you would like to, follow me SubjectDeltaBub. Anyways, enough of my blabbering, read on:**

Zuko threw a thin jacket on and pulled the hood over his head, covering his buzzed head. He grabbed his cell phone and music player, putting his headphones over his ears and left his room. Over the music, he couldn't hear his Uncle starting to cook dinner. With as many people as there were coming tonight, he knew that his Uncle would want to make something very big and that would keep him busy until they arrived. Walking down the driveway, he saw, who he assumed was, Jin's brother. He was pulling out a recliner from the back of a white pickup truck, which was most likely his. Zuko was impressed by his strength as he carried it as if it were nothing. Jin soon followed him, carrying a large box. She saw him and she gave him a smile before walking up her walkway. He couldn't help but think about how cute of a smile she showed; something about her intrigued Zuko. But Jin wasn't his main concern at the moment. Zuko's mind went back to the four day beach trip Ty Lee was going to take with his sister, the idea of them just being with the girls rubbed him the wrong way. Like he had said to Ty Lee before, his sister had a way of convincing Ty Lee to things she normally wouldn't do. He and Azula had a love hate relationship, whenever they weren't particularly on the same side, Azula liked to get any leverage on him as possible, including Ty Lee. Zuko would just have to watch what he said around his sister until Thursday, the parent comment earlier probably didn't help his case. He just hoped that the 10 months that they had been together for stood for something. At least he could ask Mai to watch over her, though turning down her advances last year might put a damper on those plans too. He rubbed his eyes with his thumb and fore finger as he tried to forget about it for now, Zuko turned into the forest between a pair of houses. The golden rays came through the branches, giving the trail more of a mystical feel to it, unlike during the fall when it looked like a horror movie. Zuko walked over the makeshift wooden bridge over the creek in front of him, a lot of memories came to mind as he stepped over on the other side, but they went away as he ducked through the hedges and into a nice pristine backyard. There was a nice two story blue house that came into view, the lawn perfectly cut and everything in place, a deck to the left with a sliding glass door and a door to the garage to the right of the deck. Making sure not to step on the small bricks around the grass, Zuko walked to the door and lightly knocked. As he waited, he turned off his music and hung the head phones around his neck. When no one answered, he opened the door softly and slipped in. Instead of a regular garage, it had been turned into a bedroom, a bed up against the old garage door, a dresser against the wall across from the door to the rest of the house and a computer to Zuko's immediate right with a flat screen TV hanging from the wall. As usual, he saw his best friend lying in bed, tubes in his nose and hooked up to a heart monitor, the steady beat was the only sign that he was still alive. Beside the bed, on a cot, laid Katara, her chocolate tresses covering her face as her chest slowly rose and fell as she slept. Zuko shut the door behind him and turned off the TV that was still on. He crossed the room over to Katara and softly shook her, her head jerked up and she wiped the drool from her lips, "Aang?"

"No, sadly it's just me," Zuko replied. Katara relaxed and rested back on the cot, "Katara, I think you should probably go home or, I don't know, see your boyfriend?"

She rubbed her eyes, "I saw him 2 days ago on Monday."

"Katara…its Sunday," Zuko told her.

She groaned, "I missed dinner with his parents."

"How has he been?" Zuko turned to his friend.

Katara rubbed her eyes, "Last time I heard, he was a little mad that I was spending my time here and from what I've heard _really_ horny."

"I'm talking about Aang."

"Oh," Her face blushed slightly as she realized her mistake. She sat up and swung her legs to the side so she was facing Aang. "He's making progress every day," Katara smiled, "Yesterday, he wiggled his fingers and this morning his head moved some. The doctors are saying it's just the muscles twitching, but I _really_ think he's going to come out of it soon." Two weeks ago, Katara had asked Aang to come meet her at her favorite coffee shop. She had had a couple of confusing dreams about them being together and Katara had to talk to Aang about it. Katara had been waiting outside when she saw him across the street, she waved at him as he started coming across the street, but was stuck by a car. Grief stricken, Katara had spent most of her time since then at Aang's side, waiting for him to come back into consciousness. With Aang's Uncle Gyatso busy with work, Katara offered to watch over Aang so Gyatso didn't have to stop working. Katara had only told Zuko the real and whole reason she was staying by Aang's side, her brother, family and friends all got a variety of different excuses. If Zuko didn't know any better, Katara was beginning to develop Florence Nightingale syndrome, if she hadn't already had those feelings for Aang already. "I think he has a really good chance of pulling through soon."

"Katara as one of your good friends-"

"You're more like an acquaintance," She interrupted.

"-As one of your _acquaintances_," Zuko corrected himself with an angry tone, "I think you need to realize that this is not your fault. You know as well as I do that Aang would _never_ hold this against you. It was a case of wrong place, wrong time…as the driver who is now in jail found out."

Katara shot him a look, "Are you really going to tell jokes about what happened to your 'best friend'?"

Zuko sighed, "Whatever, I think you should at least take the night off. Come to the party tonight and clear your mind."

"What about Aang? What if he wakes up and no one is here," Katara asked, her tone becoming worried as she turned back to him.

"Gyatso will be here by the time the party starts. You need to get out of here and get some fresh air Katara," Zuko told her, "Plus, I kind of need your help."

Her eyebrow raised, "_My_ help?"

"Yeah…I've got a guest coming to the party tonight…her name is Jin."

"So what? You and Ty Lee are over now or something?" She questioned.

"No, we're still together. She's my new neighbor, she just came to Ba Sing Se and wants to make friends and of course, who better than to make new friends with then the most friendly girl here," Zuko tried sweet talking her into coming, he knew if he could bump up Katara's ego enough that she would basically do whatever you wanted. The same went with riling her up, but that was usually saved for later. "I mean, you have the most welcoming personality out of the whole group."

Katara took a deep breath, "Well…I guess I could stop by…"

"Good. Oh, just a little bit of advice, when you get there, I wouldn't suggest just talking about Aang when your _boyfriend_ is around, it might make him a little jealous…well, more than he already is," Zuko offered.

"_Haru_ will be fine and will get over it," Katara said. She turned back to him and was caught by surprise, "Did you cut your hair?" He nodded as he pulled off his hood, running his hand over his head. "Wow, you actually look good without all that hair."

"Thanks?" He pulled his hood back onto his head. "I'll see you later tonight. Don't forget to bring a swimsuit, unless you want to go skinny dipping again." Zuko didn't see Katara flip him off as he went towards the door and put his head phones on as he left. She sighed softly as she turned back to Aang, seeing him as still as ever made her slightly frown.

Katara got up and leaned over him, she cupped his cheek, "Come back to me Aang."

* * *

Zuko ate his teriyaki chicken and rice quietly as Iroh and Jin's parents talked. He found out that Jin's brother's name was Ken upon their arrival, in Zuko's opinion, he seemed to be out place in the family. Though he had some of the same facial structure of his Father and had matching black hair, he had a muscular build that made Zuko wish he had hit the gym more and their Asian background really came out on Ken. Zuko watched as Ken played with Jin, gently nudging her with his shoulder and acting like he didn't do anything, Jin tried to hide her smile as she played along, bumping into him, but not being able to move him. Both brother and sister snickered before returning to dinner. He partially wished he had that relationship with Azula, but they had a good relationship that worked. Zuko looked over to his sister who was mindlessly picking at her food, a neutral expression on her face. He remembered all the good memories with his sister, the time they went to the beach…and she put sand down his trunks, the time they went to Omashu…and Azula spilled the tea that Zuko had just made on him and of course the time when Iroh took them camping…but Azula smashed all the S'mores. On second thought, his sister sucked. "So Daddy," Jin spoke up, Zuko looked up at her. "Can I go with Zuko to the party tonight?"

The attention was now brought to Zuko, Azula giving him a glare, he wasn't sure if it was because of an 'unplanned guest' or it was her usual heated staring. Her Father dabbed his mouth with a napkin, "What kind of party is it?" He couldn't tell her Father about what kind of party it was going to be, nothing says horrible teen influence than underage drinking and if Sokka was showing up, smoking.

"It's just a little get together that the kids have every month," Zuko thanked whatever deity was watching over him for his Uncle coming in to save the day. Even though he never _really_ knew what happened at the parties, Iroh didn't care what they did as long as they were safe. "You know kids these days, all they do is listen to music and play videogames."

Zuko's nerves relaxed as Jin's Father chuckled, "You've got a point there Mr. Iroh. I guess it wouldn't hurt, I'm amazed that you're so eager to meet new people here. When does the party get over?"

"There really is no end time," Zuko finally spoke up, "We just break off whenever we are wanted home."

"This community is very tight Mr. Cheng," Iroh added, "As long as we know where they are, we know they're all safe."

"Well, I would like Jin home before 11," Mr. Cheng said, "Unless her brother is with her, then you can stay out as long as you want." Zuko didn't need to look over at her sister to know that her fists were clinched, she really didn't like it when new people showed up. It took her at least 2 weeks to stop complaining about Aang joining.

"It's that okay Zuko?" Jin asked, feeling a little bad about inviting someone else.

Zuko continued to ignore his sister as she continued to stare daggers at him, "Yeah, that's no problem."

"Great to know my opinion is needed," Ken mumbled and Jin hit him, "What? What if I had something to do tonight?"

She gave him a tired look, "Ken, you have nothing to do."

"Well maybe I didn't want to hang out with my munchkin of a little sister," Ken teased, sticking his tongue out at his sister.

Zuko turned to his sister, 'I hate you', She mouthed.

'I know.' He mouthed back. His earlier assessment about her was right, Azula sucked.

* * *

It was quiet on the ride over to the party, Zuko took his small black truck to the party. Ty Lee had come over after dinner and caught a ride with him. Zuko drove with Ty Lee in the passenger seat with Ken and Jin in the back, Ken's legs were stretched out along the back since he was so big, they rested on Jin's lap. "So," Ken spoke up, "I'm guessing this party is going to be less of a 'eat your vegetables and drink your milk' kind of party and more of an actual teenager party huh?"

"Basically," Zuko answered, not looking away from the road.

"Thank God," He was slightly taken by surprise, Ken didn't seem to be the kind of guy that really lied to his parents. "You guys are cooler than I thought. I've been dying for a beer since we left."

Jin turned her head at her brother, "Since when do you drink?"

"Since last summer," He told her, "When I went with the guys to the lake, nothing says summer like floating on the water, beer in one hand in a girl in your lap."

She pretended to gag, "That's gross, I don't need to know about that."

"So Jin," Ty Lee turned in her seat to look back at the girl, "What do you like to do? Because I like to do Gymnastics, shopping, dressing up, jogging, cart wheels, listening to music, biking-" Zuko put his hand on Ty Lee's knee, making her stop.

"Ty, slow down, you're going to overload her," Zuko said, "One thing at a time."

The bubbly girl nodded before looking back to Jin, "Hopefully we can be _really _good friends Jin, we can spend time together, have sleep overs, go shopping, paint each other's nails, talk about boys, braid our hair, go on hikes-" Zuko just rolled his eyes as his girlfriend continued on. Ken watched in amusement as his sister nervously smiled and nodded at the girl. The ride seemed even longer for Jin until Zuko finally stopped the car at the end of the line of cars. They all got out, though it took some maneuvering from Ken to get out of the back. Walking up to the house, they already could hear the party going on. Zuko knocked loudly on the door and the sound quickly died down, even the music was cut seconds later.

"Who is it?" A cautious voice called.

"It's Zuko," He called.

The door opened and everything returned to normal, standing in the door way was Jet. His brown hair spiked in all directions and a toothpick rolling around between his teeth. He laughed off his original cautiousness, "Dude, you scared the crap outta me. I thought you were 5-O." Jet sipped on his beer past the toothpick and finally noticed the others, "Who are the new kids?"

"This is Jin and Ken," Zuko introduced them, "They're my new neighbors, they're cool."

Jet chuckled, "Yeah, yeah, come in. You're missing tonight's entertainment, the rare species of Katara Aqua has come out of hiding and is fighting with her boyfriend in the back."

Zuko sighed softly as they walked in, people started to pour out into the backyard as the fight began. He turned to Ty Lee, "Get them a drink or something while I go deal with this." Ty Lee gave him a smile and pulled the two into the kitchen as Zuko made his way through the crowd, occasionally apologizing for being a little too rough.

"I just don't get it," Zuko finally got through the last couple people to see Haru yelling at Katara, her back turned towards him. He was at least thankful that Katara had decided to take a shower…and change her clothes. "I barely get to see you and you're just hanging around with that vegetable all the time."

He clenched his fists as Katara turned around, "Do _not_ say that about Aang." She took the words right out of Zuko's mouth. "It's my fault he's lying in that bed Haru, the best thing I can do is watch over him!"

"That's what doctors are for Katara! Maybe the person in a coma should be in the hospital rather than back at home!" Haru argued, "You're not a doctor Katara, it's not your job watching over him!"

"His Father wanted and needed Aang home Haru, you have no idea what his family has had to go through and you have no right," Katara said, "And now you're trying to publically shame me because I'm doing what's right?" She poked her finger in his chest, "Then screw you Haru."

Haru pulled her hand away, "Fine, then we're done." Some gasps came from the crowd, "Have fun fucking your vegetable Katara." That was the final line that Haru crossed, Zuko finally stepped in.

He grabbed him by the collar and pulled him away from Katara, making him face Zuko, "That's my best friend you're talking about Haru. I don't care if we're friends, no one calls my best friend a vegetable." Zuko drove his knee into Haru's stomach, making him drop to his knees, "Get out of here before I hurt you more." He used his foot to kick him to the ground before turning to the people, "Return to the party, shows over." Zuko ignored the annoyed grumbles as they went back into the house. A tan teen came out of the house as Zuko watched Haru struggle to get up and eventually left through the gate on the side of the house.

"Holy shit man, I saw that from inside," Both Katara and Zuko turned to see Sokka standing there with a pipe in hand, smoke still billowing from the end. "That was awesome."

Katara crossed her arms across her chest, "Dammit Sokka, what have I told you about smoking weed? It makes you stupid."

Sokka laughed as he came over to his sister, putting his arm around her and kissing her cheek, "I missed you too Sis and no, weed doesn't make me stupid, being you would make me stupid." He laughed harder as his sister elbowed him, "I'm just messing around. Come on Katara, I want to share a drink with my favorite little sister." He told her as he led her into the house.

"I'm your only sister Sokka," Zuko watched them, amused at their antics. The rest of the party went as it normally did, everyone having fun and drinking. Ken easily melded into the group, a group of girls usually following him around the whole party. Jin got along with Katara a lot better than he thought she would, which made Zuko happy to see her fit in so easily. Zuko at one point saw his sister and her clique at the party, Azula was all over Jet as usual. He felt bad for Jet, having to deal with his sister his whole life was hell already, he couldn't imagine trying to tell her that he loved her or kiss her. Eventually, Zuko started to gain a buzz, though he was probably catching a high from Sokka's constant smoking. The group finally ended up in the living room talking, one of their friends Yue finding a seat on Ken's lap, her right arm wrapped around his neck.

"So," Sokka said, leaning back on the couch, his arms resting on the top of the couch, "Whose doing the Leap of Faith tonight?" Katara and Azula both shared a groan from Sokka, the only time in their lives they would ever do something in sync.

"Sokka, no one is doing your stupid 'Leap of Faith'," Katara told him. "The only person to actually do that is you…Jet won't even do it and he _lives_ here."

Jin wore a look of confusion, "Wait, what's the 'Leap of Faith'?"

"Basically," Jet began, repositioning himself in his seat, "You climb up to the roof and do a front flip over the 6 foot gap between the house and the pool and make it in without hurting yourself. The problem is, you need to get enough of a running start to get to the deepest part of the pool, put also trying not to hit the other end of the pool."

"_That_ is what you guys like to do for fun?" Ken asked.

Sokka shrugged, "It beats doing nothing. But seriously, who's going to do it?"

It was relatively quiet among them, excluding the noise from the other party goers. "I'll do it," Everyone turned to Zuko.

Sokka laughed, "No, really, who's going to do it?"

"I will."

"Zuko, that's the dumbest thing I've heard come out of your mouth…and I've heard you say that having long hair would be a great idea and now look at your hair," Azula spoke up, "Don't do something stupid."

Ty Lee held onto his arm, "Don't do it Zuko, I don't want a quadriplegic as a boyfriend."

"Don't talk him out of it," Sokka said as he pulled Zuko up off the couch, he leaned in, "By the way, am I the only one surprised that Ty Lee knew the word 'quadriplegic'?" As he led him through the house, Sokka cleared his throat, "Ladies and Gentlemen, boys and girls, Zuko Agni is going to attempt the 'Leap of Faith'." A cheer spread through the house as Sokka continued to push Zuko towards the back of the house.

* * *

"Zuko?"

"Yeah?"

"You do know that when my brother did this…he didn't walk right for a week right?" Katara asked as they stared at the distance between the roof and the pool while the party goers looked on. Jin and Ty Lee looked on in worry as his sister watched in amusement.

Zuko shrugged, trying to show a calm demeanor but anyone could see he was nervous, "I got this."

"What's up with you lately?" Katara asked, "With the whole shaving your head thing and actually being nice to Jin and bringing her to the party and now this, are you dying or something?"

He shook his head, "I thought it was time for a change with the hair and everything else has just come in stride I guess. But I think I may have had too much to drink earlier when I said I would do this, but now I'm completely sober."

"Well, you've made it farther than anyone else. Haru wouldn't even climb the ladder…pussy," She mumbled the last part, making Zuko chuckle slightly. It was rare to hear Katara cuss. "You're lucky I got up here with you."

Zuko turned to her, "Yeah, why did you come up here with me?"

"I decided I would ask you something before you completely killed yourself," Katara said, "It's a little bit of a personal question."

"I thought I was just an '_acquaintance_'," Zuko replied, but freaked out when he nearly lost his balance, but quickly regained it.

Katara rolled her eyes, "I just thought I would bump you up to good friend as a gift before you died. What do you think about me and Aang?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean…like…him and I…well…like you and Ty Lee…or how me and Haru were," Katara didn't want to say the actual word, but Zuko didn't need 20 questions to guess what was on Katara's mind.

"I'm about to do your brother's stupid challenge and you're asking me if you and Aang would be a good couple," Zuko laughed, he looked towards Katara, "Why not do what I'm doing? Take a leap of faith. If or when Aang comes out of that coma…tell him." Their conversation ended when Jet carefully crossed along the roof.

"Okay everyone," He announced from the roof, "Zuko is about to preform what only Sokka Aqua has completed, the Leap of Faith. To do this, Zuko will have to front flip off the top of this roof, over the 6 foot gap and about 5 more feet to the deep end. And who ever says that isn't impressive, I would love to see you come up here and do it. Now, who's ready to see Zuko die?" Most of the partygoers cheered as Katara and Zuko both looked at him, "What? It's just a joke man. You've got this."

Zuko grabbed everything out of his pocket and handed them to Katara, "Here, I wouldn't want my things getting wet now would I?" He ran his hands over his face and took a deep breath, it was time. "Well, here goes nothing." Zuko backed up a bit and took off, he heard a couple cries as he pushed off the roof and leaned forward, everything seemed to slow down as he flew through the air. He at least got the front flip down as he spun through the air, Zuko just wasn't sure how far he had made it over the water. But as he neared the water, everything returned to normal and slammed into the water, now all he had to worry about was how deep the water was. As the water cushioned his fall, he floated to the bottom and barely tapped it. Zuko pushed off the bottom of the pool and broke the surface of the water to hear cheers of joy. He swam to the edge and pulled himself up, sitting on the edge and wiped his face.

He felt a pair of arms clamp around him and he already knew who it was, "That was so stupid of you Zuko, I can't believe you would even think of such a thing." Ty Lee nearly sobbed on his shoulder. Zuko rolled his eyes and patted her softly on the head.

* * *

Zuko turned off his truck and sighed softly, rested his head back against the rest. He looked to his right, Ty had fallen asleep and slumped against him and Jin rested her head against the window. Quietly, he opened his door and went around to the back of the truck where Ken was also passed out. Zuko shook him until he woke up, "Hey, we're back."

Ken rubbed his eyes, "Man, I was having a great dream about that girl Yue. You have to totally hook me up with her number."

"Maybe some other time, preferably when I'm not in wet clothes," Zuko walked over to the other side of the truck.

Before Zuko could open the door for Jin, Ken grabbed his hand, "Unless you want her to freak out and be in a bad mood, don't wake her up." Zuko softly opened the door and caught Jin before she moved too much. Putting his arm under her legs and his other arm around her waist, he carefully lifted her up, her head resting on his chest. He turned to offer her to her brother, but once he got down from the truck, he stumbled back against the truck, obviously still drunk.

"I think I should walk over with you," Zuko suggested. Slowly walking behind Ken as he made his way over to his house, Zuko repositioned his arms slightly to alleviate his aching arms. He knew Jin wasn't heavy, but he knew he would have to start weight lifting _a lot_ more. Once they got to the door, Jin nuzzled her head closer against his chest as Ken fumbled with his keys. Ken finally unlocked the door and quietly snuck through the house. Zuko had to admit it, for someone who could barely keep his balance while walking, Ken was very good at sneaking. "Which room is hers?" Zuko whispered, his arms started to ache. 'Seriously, weight lifting is coming in my near future,' He scolded himself.

Ken pointed to one of the closed doors before pushing his open and, from the sound of it, crashing down on his bed. Zuko struggled, but opened her door. Only her bed had been set up, her jade green sheets were made perfectly. He set her down softly on the bed and when he tried to pull away, her grip on him wouldn't cease. Attempting to pull her off him, he completely froze when his efforts woke her, Jin's hands grabbed onto him, "Lee?"

Her olive green orbs looked up at him as he shook his head, "No…it's just me, Zuko." Her grip relaxed and she finally let go, resting her head on the pillow. "Get some sleep and I'll see you tomorrow." She rolled over away from him and curled up. Zuko now understood what Ken meant by waking her up. He shut the door behind him as he left, doing the same with the front door. Walking back to his house, he picked up Ty Lee from her slumped over position and walked up the path to the house.

"But Zuko," Ty Lee softly mumbled, "I don't want any more marshmallows." Zuko glanced at his girlfriend, shaking his head at her. Ty Lee had a habit of saying weird things as she sat on the fence between her drunken stupor and passing out. Unlocking his door, he walked in and closed and locked the door. Once he got to his room, he laid her on the bed before stripping off his wet clothing, happy to be out of them and putting on some dry boxers. Zuko stripped Ty Lee down to her underwear before pulling her under the covers with him. She nuzzled her face into his neck, "Zuko," She softly whispered.

"Good night Ty Lee," Zuko whispered back before falling asleep with her.

**-SDB**


	3. Suki's Secret

**Sorry, this chapter was supposed to be put out yesterday, but I was lazy. But here it is:**

"Zuko," He stirred slightly, but dug his head back into his pillow. "Zuko," The second time he woke up, but didn't move from his position. He felt a hand touch his bare back and shake him, "Zuko, wake up." He knew the definitely wasn't Ty Lee's hand, but he recognized the voice as Sokka's and he groaned into the pillow. "Would you just get up already?" Sokka asked, "We're losing day light."

His eye peaked at the rays of sun light, that he still didn't forgive from the day before on his bed, "The sun light can wait."

"But I don't want to," Sokka told him, bouncing his basketball off of Zuko's head. Zuko's arm immediately shot out and punched Sokka in the gut, causing him to fall over, gasping for air.

He rolled over on his back and rubbed his eyes as Sokka groaned in pain, "Oh stop, I barely hit you that hard." Getting out of bed, Zuko stepped over Sokka and walked to his dresser. Zuko was happy that he remembered to wear a pair of boxers last night. Pulling on a t-shirt and shorts, he grabbed a pair of socks and sat back down on his bed. "Dude, seriously, get up."

"You punched me so hard I lost my breath," Sokka complained, his arms still clutching his stomach.

"Did you see Ty Lee when you got here?" Zuko asked as he grabbed his shoes from the night before, thankful that they had dried out by now.

Sokka finally got up off of the floor, but one of his arms still around his stomach, "Yeah, she's out in the living room. Why? Are you going to punch her in the stomach too?"

"If she bounces a ball off my head when I tell her I'm trying to sleep, I would think about it," Zuko admitted as he grabbed Sokka's basketball. Walking into the living room, he saw that Ty Lee was wrapped up in a blanket with a bowl of oatmeal in her lap, her head slumped to the side. "What's with her?

"I tried to get her to eat," Azula said as she walked into the living room from the kitchen, "But she just passed out again, I'm sure she'll come to soon enough. You're welcome for doing your job by the way Zuzu."

Zuko rolled his eyes, "Thanks Azula." He turned to leave, but her claws grabbed onto him.

"I'm not done yet, I still have to talk to you about that stupid stunt you pulled last night," Azula began to berate him.

"Azula, in Zuko's defense, it was cool as hell…from what I could remember," Sokka chuckled.

Azula held her hand up to Sokka's face, "I'm not talking to you numbskull. Zuzu, are you really that stupid to put your life in danger like this idiot?" She pointed her thumb in Sokka's direction. "As much as I pretend to not care, I never expected you to do something as dumb as doing what you did last night."

"Azula, you need to calm the hell down," Zuko told her, "What's got you so worried about me in the first place?" Azula kept her façade and nodded towards Sokka. He sighed, "Sokka, I'll meet you outside in a little bit, okay?" Sokka nodded and went outside, leaving him, Azula and a still passed out Ty Lee. "What's wrong with you?"

"Zuko, you're my only family left and you're front flipping off roofs into pools, how am I not supposed to be okay with that?" She asked, "The only reason I didn't stop you before was because I thought you were going to back down like Jet did, like…that kid…" Azula stumbled, trying to remember the name.

"Like _Aang_ did," Zuko answered.

"Yeah, whatever his name his," Azula ignored her brother's help, "They were smart enough to not do it, why weren't you?"

Zuko ran a hand over his face as he slowly exhaled, he didn't want to let loose on his sister, it was never a good thing to do at the start of the day, "Azula, it doesn't matter. I'm still alive and I wasn't hurt, so stop worrying." He opened the door, "Thanks for taking care of Ty by the way."

"I took care of her because she's my friend," Azula coldly answered as she turned away from him and walked away. He rolled his eyes and shut the door as he walked out to meet Sokka by the hoop. Zuko passed the ball wordlessly and leaned against his Uncle's car.

"Is everything okay?" Sokka cautiously asked before shooting the ball and missing.

"As much as 'okay' as Azula and I can get I guess," Zuko answered as Sokka ran over to get the ball and bringing it back to the concrete. "My sister is a hard book to read, one moment she could ruin my relationship with a flick of her wrist, act cold and watch with a smile as I'm about to flip off a roof then once I do that, she turns into nurturing, watch dog like a…a…"

"Katara-like sister," Sokka finished his sentence with a smile.

Zuko nodded, "Exactly."

"I'm just happy to hear that she has a heart," Sokka took another shot but missed, "Dammit, I suck at this."

Zuko grabbed it as it bounced his way, "I agree. It's probably because all you do is smoke weed and have sex with Toph…sometimes both at the same time." He aimed his shot and took it, easily putting it through the hoop. "I'm surprised you can remember half the things you do."

He got Zuko's rebound, "Why do both you and my sister have to get on my back about smoking? I understand that putting smoke in my body is bad, but it makes me happy and I don't think there is anything better than a happy Sokka."

"Except when you drink a lot along with that weed, then you like to yell at Smellerbee. You keep calling her a mushroom and saying 'maybe it's friendly!'." Zuko commented. "If Jet and I have to save your butt again, we're just going to let her beat you up the next time." Sokka decided not to reply, knowing that Zuko had him. "Anyways, how is your sister doing after yesterday?"

Sokka made a lay-up, it rolled off his finger tips with ease, "Eh, better than usual when she gets dumped. No sappy movies, no depressing music and no random mood swings…then again, she hasn't been at the house since yesterday to change."

"I'll check on her when I go to Aang's today," Zuko told him as he took the ball. "Hopefully she hasn't turned Aang's room into a post break up apocalypse."

"You're still coming with me to meet the girls when they come back right?" Sokka asked. "It will be less of an awkward ride back if you're there…I still think Suki wants to kill me."

Zuko effortlessly shot the ball, hitting it off the back board and into the hoop, "Maybe you shouldn't have been rummaging through her stuff and wore her black lace bra on your head. You probably also shouldn't have brought it down to Toph, which sparked her comment which made everything worse."

Sokka thought back to the moment and laughed, "But you have to admit that it was hilarious."

"Asking her if 'these cups can be used for cereal bowls' probably isn't the best thing to say, especially in front of her body conscious 15 year old cousin," Zuko nearly scolded him. "She had literally told you before coming over to not make any comments, especially boob jokes."

"I told her I was sorry like 20 times, it's not my fault that I forgot about it." Before Zuko could speak up, Sokka changed the subject, "So are you coming or not?"

"When is it?" Zuko asked.

Sokka reached into his pocket, pulling out his phone, "Um, 10 minutes."

Zuko rolled his eyes, "Of course it is…and I'm guessing you're going to need me to drive huh?" The dark skinned teen smiled at him, "That's what I thought. I'll go get my keys." Zuko went back into the house and grabbed his things before coming out into the living room. He rested his right knee on the edge of the couch as he gently brushed the fallen hair out of Ty Lee's sleeping face. Her eyes slowly opened and he smiled, "Good morning."

"My head hurts," She whined in a whisper.

"Get some water, it will make you feel better," He kissed her forehead, "I'm going to go get Toph and Suki with Sokka, they're getting back from their trip today."

She frowned and limply put her arm around his neck, "But I wanted to 'spend some time' with you."

Zuko nearly groaned at their code phrase, Sokka was going to have to pay big time. "When I get back Ty. Get some water and food in you and maybe get some more rest. I'll be back before you know it." They shared a kiss before he left and got into the truck with Sokka. For the first part of the summer, Toph and Suki had taken a month long trip with the Outdoors Club to the Kyoshi Mountains. Suki was happy to be in her original roots where her Mother was born while Toph, surprising to the group, wanted to enjoy some time in Nature. Even though Toph was in the Outdoors Club, no one assumed she _actually_ liked it. They just thought she did it to join a club and mess around. Zuko pulled into the school's parking lot and he sighed deeply, he didn't want to see this building for another couple months. Zuko parked in the most available spot by the entrance of the school and they both got on, Zuko sat on the hood of his car while Sokka leaned against it. "So, when are you and Toph getting together?"

Sokka chuckled, "Me and Toph aren't getting together, that's not 'us'. She's perfectly content with us just messing around."

"You should right Hallmark Cards," Zuko sarcastically replied. "Your first card will be: Hey baby, I just want to be up front, we should just fuck and smoke a blunt. I think it's awesome that you don't want to date, just make sure to bring a condom so we don't pro-create."

Sokka put a joint between his lips, "I would be a modern day Shakespeare." He tried to light it and Zuko slapped it from his lips on to his lap, "Hey man, I was trying to smoke that."

"Are you stupid? We're out in the open during the day with other people around," He motioned to the people on the other side of the entrance to the school, waiting for the bus like them. "It's like you're trying to get caught."

He scoffed, "Dude, relax, no one is going to do anything." Sokka put it back between his lips and lit it, smoke pouring out of his mouth as he exhaled. Zuko pulled the collar of his shirt over his nose as the smell hit him. "So," Sokka coughed a couple times, "How are you and Ty?"

"We were about to get 'really good', but I had to drive you out here to meet your…whatever you're calling Toph," Zuko answered. "But other than that…just _peachy_."

"I heard she's going to go on that beach trip with your sister and her entourage on Thursday," Sokka continued to make small talk. He pulled the joint from his mouth, blowing a couple smoke rings. "You worried?" Zuko didn't dignify Sokka's question with a response, he already wasn't happy thinking about Ty Lee going off with his sister. "Here," Sokka offered half-finished joint, "This will take your mind off of it."

Zuko pushed his hand back, "I'm not smoking weed then driving Sokka, I'm not that stupid." Sokka just rolled his eyes and continued smoking while the bus came into the parking lot. "Well, here they are." They stayed by the car as the club got off the bus and were welcomed by their families. Zuko smiled slightly when he saw Suki come into view, walking and talking with Yuki. They gave each other a hug before she walked away, Suki spotted them and gave them a wave. Being in the wilderness for a month, Suki's clothes were completely dirty, she wore short khaki shorts with a green tank top, her light brown hair was pulled back in a ponytail. As she got closer, Zuko could see the dirt on her face.

"I should feel honored Scar Face has come to pick me up and he cleaned up his hair," Suki smiled as she rubbed her hand over his hair. "So what's new?"

"Well-" Sokka began, but Suki held up a hand.

"Not from you Mr. Panty raid," She shut him up.

"Aang's in a coma," Zuko told her.

She frowned slightly, "I heard, I'm sorry to hear about that Zuko."

Sokka chuckled slightly, "Zuko isn't the one taking it the worst, Katara has been by his side longer than anyone else. So anyways, where is Toph?"

"She's still on the bus," Suki sighed with an annoyed tone, "How about you go meet her as the adults talk?" He pushed off the truck and walked over to the bus as Suki turned back to Zuko. She placed a concerned hand on his arm, "Are you doing okay?"

"I'm fine," He answered. "I punched Haru for calling him a vegetable after dumping Katara…but yeah, I'm fine."

"Katara and Haru are over?" Zuko nodded, Suki took a breath of relief, "Thank the heavens, I was _so_ tired of that guy. If I had to hear one more story about him, I was going to lose it." Suki brought her bags to the back of the truck while Zuko watched as Sokka met Toph at the bus, lifting her up in the air in a hug as they met. Zuko didn't need to be closer to know the scowl that was most likely present on her face, she was never one of public displays of affection, _especially_ by Sokka. "So, can you do me a favor?"

Zuko looked back to Suki as she came back around to the front of the truck, a more serious look on her face. "More than picking you up and driving you home?" She let out a half-hearted chuckle at his joke, but her expression stayed the same, "What do you need Suki?"

"Can you take me over to Aang's? I need to talk to Katara about something," She told him. "It's kind of serious."

"Yeah," Suki smiled and gave him a hug. She quietly thanked him as Sokka and Toph came towards the truck with her stuff. Toph had her hair down her back, but a beanie covered the top of her head. She wore a black tank top with, what Zuko recognized as, a pair of Sokka's shorts.

A smile came across Toph's face, "Sup Sparky." She held out her arms, "Do I not get my hug from my favorite big brother?" Zuko rolled his eyes as he got off the truck and hugged her, picking her up in the process. Her hand rubbed his head, "Nice buzz there Sparky."

He put her down, "I can't wait for everyone to stop commenting on it…and stop calling me your big brother, people are starting to believe that."

"It's only because we look like alike, you have to at least admit that," Toph said. "I mean I could pass off as your little sister…and I would be a lot nicer."

"I sincerely doubt that," Zuko muttered as he went around to his door and got into the truck as Toph put her things in the back of the truck. The passenger door opened and Toph climbed in, Zuko was surprised to see Sokka climb in the back with Suki. He was most likely trying to gain some brownie points with her since she still held a grudge against him. Toph searched through her backpack as Zuko started the truck. She pulled out a long cylindrical black object and placed it between her lips, "What in the hell is that?"

Toph smiled past the object as she zipped up her backpack, "It's an E-Cigarette, and it's a lot better than smoking regular cigarettes. Instead of smoke," She took a slow draw from it and blew out vapor, "It's a nice vapor. I can still feed my nicotine addiction and not smell like an ash tray." He was at least happy that his car wasn't going to smell horrible. Driving down the road, Zuko looked in the rear view to see Suki in the back, watching the buildings pass by and obviously ignoring Sokka.

"Toph, can I ask you something?"

"Yeah, you can have some," Toph offered it to him.

He shook his head, "No, not that. I wanted to know what's up with Suki."

"Ah, you want to know about Mama-Bear," Zuko gave her a weird look. "It's a nickname from the group. She can go from the nicest girl to a strong and angry woman willing to protect the youngest members of our Club. Anyways, she's been a tough cookie on this trip, been acting pretty weird. Usually I wouldn't care, but sharing a tent with her basically made it my problem. So when I went through her diary-"

Zuko stopped her, "Wait, you went through her _diary_? Not only am I surprised that you went through her personal diary…I'm surprised anyone even has a diary anymore."

"I know! I was thinking the same thing," Toph ignored the first part of his response. "Anyways, so when I was reading it, she referenced this dude that she's in love with that she wasn't sure if he liked her. It's literally just pages about this dude, but I still can't find a name, she must have assumed that I was reading it by that point." Toph didn't need to read Zuko's mind to know what was coming next, "And it's _not _Sokka. There is no way a girl would be so hung up over Sokka and still hate him as much as she does. At first I thought it was you."

His eyebrows raised slightly, "Me?"

"Yeah, but I ruled you out because she said that the dude was single," Toph continued, "Then I found out that the dude is really hot. He has long dark brown hair, tan skin, green eyes, perfect teeth and a nice ass, but that's all I really remember right now." In Zuko's mind, he was putting the person together in his mind, but what appeared in his mind wasn't a guy…it was Yuki. "Do you know any guys that might look like that Sparky?"

Zuko knew if he was right and Toph found out, she would blab Suki's secret to anyone with a pulse. "Uh, nope, I don't know any guys that would look like that. Maybe she met him on the internet or something."

"I guess…" Toph drifted off as she looked out the window. The rest of the drive was quick and Zuko stopped in front of her house. "Well, thanks for the ride Sparky. We should totally hang out later, maybe we can go wake up Twinkle Toes." Zuko grabbed for her as she slipped out the truck with a laugh. "Come on, you know it was a little funny!" He gripped the steering wheel in anger as Sokka took her stuff out the back and Suki climbed into the cab of the truck. Zuko took off as soon as Sokka got all of Toph's things.

"You gotta love Toph," Suki spoke up, trying to ease Zuko's aggression towards the short girl. "Just be happy you weren't stuck in a tent with her for a full month, that girl really doesn't understand privacy."

His earlier conversation with Toph came to mind, "Yeah, about that…Toph told me she was reading your diary."

"Oh I know, that's why I haven't put anything really personal in there." Suki smiled.

"She told me about the 'guy' you like…about how 'he' looks," Zuko said, he could see out of the corner of his eye that her body went rigid. "It's not a guy is it…"

Suki was silent for a few moments, "Can we talk about it when we see Katara?" He nodded silently and continued to drive, it wasn't long until they pulled up in front of Aang's house. Walking around the house, Zuko looked back and saw the look of uneasiness on Suki's face.

Before they went inside, Zuko turned to look at her, "Okay, so I'm not really good at this but…I want you to know, that I accept you no matter what Suki and I'm sure everyone else will. We all just want you to be happy, even if _some of us_ don't really show it."

Tears welled up in her eyes and she hugged Zuko with all her might, "Thank you," She mumbled into his shoulder. Suki broke the hug and wiped away her tears, "It's so hard dealing with this alone and I thought you all would think I'm strange because of it."

"We already think you're strange Suki," Suki hit him in the shoulder and she tried to hold back a laugh, "You're perfectly fine Suki." Zuko opened the door to see Katara passed out on Aang's bed, her head snuggled up to Aang, a bunch of wadded up tissues around her.

"I thought Sokka was just kidding when he said she and Haru broke up," Suki murmured as they walked further into the room. "If Aang were conscious, there would be a completely different reason why those tissues are here."

"Does no one care that our friend is in a coma?" Zuko rhetorically asked as he gently shook Katara, "Katara wake up." Her irritated blue eyes opened and realized where she was, "Are you okay?"

She nodded, "I guess the break up hit me harder than I thought." Katara saw Suki and got off the bed, "Hey Suki, I didn't know you got back into town."

The two shared a small hug, "I just got back actually, I thought I would come see you and Aang."

"Well tell me how everything went," Katara said, sitting on the edge of the bed.

"Before I get into that," Suki sat on the nearest seat, "I need to talk to you about something…well…more like your advice on something." Zuko walked over to Aang's computer table, near the two and leaned against it, quietly watching the two. "I'm attracted to someone, but I don't know if they like me."

Katara nodded as her mind turned to friend mode, he could see the small twinkle in her eyes. If anyone loved giving advice on love, it was Katara. "Well is he in a relationship with someone or did he just break up with someone recently?"

Suki closed her eyes and took a breath, "Actually…it's not a guy Katara…" Zuko wanted to laugh at the slow realization on Katara's face as she understood what Suki meant, but it would be the worst time to even attempt humor. "I like Yuki Miyamoto."

"You like…_girls_?" Katara asked and Suki nodded hesitantly, obviously worried about what was going through her friend's head. "I won't lie, I didn't really see that coming, but if that makes you happy, then more power to you." Suki's body relaxed. "Do you know if Yuki is into girls also?"

"It's not like she came out and said it, but she has said that she thinks it would be a lot easier if she was just a lesbian," Suki said. "She and I spent a lot of time together on the trip and I loved every moment. Yuki definitely showed interest in me, but I'm not sure if I'm thinking too much into them."

Katara repositioned herself on the bed, "Personally, I think that Yuki likes girls too. I've caught some weird vibes from her when we went to the public pool and I was showing off my new bikini. So I think you have no worries about that, I would go for it if I were you."

"But what do you think about me liking girls? Does that…weird you out?" Suki asked.

She shook her head, "I have no problem if you like girls, why would my perception on my best friend change if she likes girls?" Suki immediately hugged Katara, who quickly returned the hug. Zuko felt bad that Suki would think that any of them would think of her different just because of the types of people she liked. He thought back to when he and Ty Lee started dating, remembering when he worried for a couple moments about what her friends would think about him. But just what Suki would learn soon, Zuko realized that it didn't matter what anyone else thought. "So anyways, tell me about your trip, you have to tell me everything." For the first time in his life, Zuko missed the emotional problems of the two girls.

* * *

Pulling the door open to his Uncle's tea shop, he was surprised to see it barely occupied. The layout of the bar reminded him of a bar with a restaurant, the bar with a view into the kitchen was set up to the right and booths along the left wall and back of the shop, along with private rooms. Going towards the bar, he saw his sister come out of the kitchen with a pot of tea. Azula placed the pot of tea in front of a couple at the bar and turned to her brother, "Zuzu, what are you doing here? You don't work until Thursday."

"I just need some tea," Zuko sat down on the bar stool as Azula came over to him. "Just give me some of Uncle's Secret blend."

"Do I look like a servant?"

Zuko rubbed his tired eyes, "I would have to say so. You do have the uniform for it Zula. Please, I don't want to fight with you or make this harder than it needs to be, can I just get some tea Azula?"

She rolled her eyes and sighed, "Fine, you speak to the people pleaser in me Zuzu." Zuko drug his nails down his face as he held in his anger nearly boiled. "By the way, your new friend is here in the Noodles Booth." While working at their Uncle's Tea Shop, Zuko and Azula had many stories and names for certain events including the 'Noodles' Booth. The first and last time anyone brought in outside food to the Tea Shop, a girl had spilt her incredibly pungent and messy noodles over the seats and table that took both of them an hour to get the smell out. "You should probably go talk to her because she looks depressed. I made sure to take away any sharp objects so she doesn't cut herself."

"Why don't you like Jin? What in the world has she done to you?" Zuko finally questioned. "You got mad that she was invited to the party last night and now you think she's going to cut her wrists because she looks sad."

"I was mad because I don't understand why you have to invite every single person you meet to a get together with my friends," Azula placed her hand on the counter as she leaned in towards her brother. "First it was Sokka, then it was Aang, then it was Katara and so on and so on. Now, you're inviting more people? When is it going to end Zuko?"

"When you can prove to me that more than half of those people are your friends and not Jet's," Zuko retorted. Azula opened her mouth, but nothing came out, he knew he had her. "So that tea would be nice at the Noodle Booth," Zuko patted his sister's hand as he got up. He ignored the heated stare in the back of his head as he walked over to the booth. Jin was slouched over the table as she ran the tip of her finger along the rim of her cup. Plopping down in the booth, Jin nearly jumped as he surprised her. "What's got you down?"

Jin rested the left side of her jaw on the heel of her hand, "Well, first it was me missing home, but now it's kind of a mix of that…and the fact that your sister is being kind of a bitch to me. No offense."

"It's fine, Azula has that effect on everyone," He assured her.

She looked back down at her cup, "Sorry about last night."

"What do you mean?"

"When I woke up and called you 'Lee', I know it's not really what a guy wants to really hear after he carried a girl to her room," Jin said.

"It's fine," Zuko told her, "It's not like I was looking for something else." Jin chuckled softly, but her mood was still down. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Jin removed her eyes from her cup to Zuko's golden eyes, "I couldn't possibly bother you with my problems Zuko."

"I've already been through the ringer with emotions today, I think I could stand to listen to some more," Zuko smiled. He surprised himself to be this social with people, especially with emotions, but recently, it had become easier. Though as Jin began to talk everything out with Zuko, he had a nagging feeling that he was forgetting about someone or something he had to do. He shrugged it off as Azula delivered his tea with an angry look and continued to listen to the green eyed girl.

**-SDB**


	4. A Day with Jin

He growled with anger as the call went to voice mail once again. Zuko tossed his phone onto his bed a little too hard and it bounced off of it and hit the wall. This day wasn't going so smooth. As soon as he got home the night before, he remembered that he had promised to come back to Ty Lee after getting Suki and Toph. Zuko couldn't get a word from his sister after pissing her off last night. He would be lucky if Azula convinced Ty Lee to only dump him. Things would have been a lot better if Azula didn't know he had spent most of the rest of the afternoon and evening talking to Jin. As much as he loved Ty Lee, he hated the fact that leaving her alone with his sister could make her do things she wouldn't have before. Walking over to the other side of his bed, he picked up his phone and dialed her number again, but the same result. This time, he left a message. "Ty, I'm sorry I didn't come back as soon as I should have yesterday. I lost track of time and things were complicated. It's not like I was cheating on you or anything," He winced at his own words, that's possibly the worst idea he ever had to go on the offensive when he was the one that pissed her off. "Just…call me back." Zuko hung up and set his phone down on the bed, remembering what happened last time. He walked out to the kitchen and grabbed himself a drink from the fridge. Screwing off the top, Zuko took a long drink before setting the bottle down on the counter and rubbed his eyes, as if it would somehow wipe away the situation. A knock on the door surprised him, no one really came around her in the afternoon. He walked to the front door and pulled it open. "Jin?" The olive green eyed girl stood on his porch, her hair pulled back in a high pony tail and a green floral dress.

"Hey Zuko," She smiled, "I was just wondering if you would like to spend some time together." In nearly a split second, Jin's eyes analyzed him and her smile faded, "What's wrong Zuko?"

"It's that obvious huh?" She nodded. "I don't want to bother you with my problems, it's not much of a problem anyways."

Jin smiled slyly, "Oh no way Zuko Agni, you spent all of last night listening to my problems and now it's time for me to return the favor."

"Fine…just don't call me by my full name," Zuko stood aside to let her into the house. They ended up in the backyard, sitting in the deck chairs by his Uncle's koi pond he had put in. He explained everything to her, starting with the beginning of his and Ty Lee's relationship, how he worried about his sister's influence on her and blowing her off last night.

As Zuko finished, he took a small drink as Jin took in his story. "Would you mind if I gave you some advice?" He shook his head. "I think you're in an unhealthy relationship, from my point of view anyways. You can't fully put your trust into someone whom you claim to love, while I do believe that your sister is a control freak over things, Ty Lee seems to be very susceptible to her control and you have no say in it. There is only one way I can see that your relationship with Ty Lee could really work, you would need to convince her to stop being friends with Azula."

"That can't be the only way."

"I've met girls like her before Zuko," Jin reasoned, "Ty Lee has yet to find out who she is and from what you have told me, it must be hard doing that with her siblings. She seeks and sometimes needs your sister's approval. You need to cut off her dependence from your sister."

"How do you know all this stuff?"

Jin shrugged, "Some people use the internet to look at cat videos and nut shots while I read psychological papers and learn about conditions. That's how I was able to read you."

"Huh, interesting," Zuko muttered to himself as he took another drink. "By the way, why are you dressed that way?"

She slightly frowned, "You don't like my dress?"

Zuko shook his head, "No, it's not that, but you just seem over-dressed."

"Maybe I'm trying to impress you," Jin replied with a smile, cracking one on Zuko's also. "Actually, Lee is coming to visit me tonight."

"Well that's good."

"Yeah, we're trying the whole 'long distance' thing. Lee is going to stay in a hotel for a couple days and we're going to dinner tonight. Do you have any suggestions for a restaurant? I'm looking for something romantic, but at the same time, nothing _too_ romantic that might mean I'm wanting this night to be the 'next step' type of date, you know?" Jin asked.

Zuko took another drink, "Sadly I do…go to the Chinese restaurant that is a couple blocks from the hotels, nothing _too _committal and not _too _fast food. It will also be easy on the wallet, the most expensive thing there is $15."

"Thanks Zuko," Jin said, "It's great to know that I have a friend here."

"Well after a couple weeks here in Ba Sing Se, you'll have more than one friend here. Just stay away from Sokka, he has a habit of sleeping with girls, even if they have boyfriends," Zuko told her, "He's a nice guy, but he doesn't know how to keep it in his pants."

She giggled, "Duly noted. Oh, I totally forgot. Ken wants to know if you could give him Yue's number, he will not stop talking about her."

"I'll give you her number for him later, I don't have my phone on me." Jin's phone went off and she answered, getting off the chair and walking closer to the house. Trying to ignore the conversation, Zuko watched the water cascade down into the koi pond, the small ripples in the water extended out to the edge of the rocks surrounding the pond. She came back over and stood by his chair, he looked up to her and saw the frown on her face, "You have to go huh?" Jin nodded.

"Sorry Zuko, maybe one of these days you and I can spend more than 20 minutes with each other." She optimistically said, "If you're not too busy tomorrow, you can meet Lee. I think you two could get along."

"Well, I'm guessing that Ty Lee isn't going to call, so I'll just be here if you need me," Zuko joked. Jin gave him a smile before leaving, he turned his attention back to the koi pond, hoping to distract himself from trying to call his girlfriend one more time.

* * *

Tossing and turning in the bed, Zuko finally sighed and rolled onto his back. The summer heat was still in effect, his whole body was covered in sweat. He couldn't sleep, all he could think about was Ty Lee. She still wouldn't answer any of his calls. What made it even worse was what Jin had told him, the more he thought about it; the more it made sense to him. There was something about Jin, something that he liked, it just hadn't hit him yet. He let out a yawn and closed his eyes again, hoping to find sleep, though the sound of a chainsaw-like snore coming from his Uncle's bedroom wasn't making it any easier. Taking relaxing breaths, Zuko hoped to fall asleep soon, but a yell alerted him. Nearly flying out of bed, Zuko swung his door open and ran to the source of the yell which he deduced was from the bathroom across from his sister's room. Zuko threw the door open and nearly burst out laughing. His sister was stuck in the toilet, her legs kicking up in the air with her underwear around her calves and the large black shirt she wore to bed bunched up along the ceramic bowl. "Get me out of this," Azula groaned.

Zuko walked over and cracked a smile, "How did you get yourself stuck?"

"_Someone_ left the toilet seat up and I fell in, now get me out of the toilet Zuko," She snarled, trying to grab for him, but found it pointless.

"You do know that this is technically your bathroom and no one has used it today…well, except for you," Zuko pointed out. "Well…unless you brought over Jet." He could see that she was quickly losing patience. "Relax, I'll help you out." He bent his legs and put his right arm underneath her legs and his left arm around her back. Zuko lifted her out with ease and set her down. "You okay?"

Azula glared at him, "My butt is wet with toilet water…not really. By the way, if you tell anyone, I'll make you pay."

"I wasn't planning on it. Just remember to check before you sit next time so you don't fall in next time," Zuko walked out of the bathroom, but stopped when he heard his sister call his name.

He walked back to the door, "Thanks for helping me…I guess I…_owe_ you or something."

Zuko shook his head, "You don't owe me anything Azula. You're my sister, I don't need to do things for you and expect things back." He walked back to his room without another word and shut the door. Collapsing onto his bed, he finally felt like he was able to sleep. Before he could escape to his dreams, there was a tapping on his window. Zuko pushed himself off his bed and sighed. Opening the curtains, he could make out the pony tail of Jin. He opened the window, "Jin, what are you doing here? Do you know what time it is?"

"I know," Her voice cracked which immediately caught Zuko's attention. "I just didn't know who else to come to."

He didn't need to see her face to know that she was crying, he could just hear it in her voice. "Just meet me in the back yard." Zuko rubbed his eyes as he walked towards the living room. "I swear if I think about something enough I get it," He muttered to himself, "I just need to think about getting a million dollars all the time." Pulling open the sliding glass door, he allowed Jin inside. With the little light in the house, he could see her tear stained cheeks. "What happened?"

Jin wiped her face for another wave of tears, "Lee tried to make me have sex with him. When I wouldn't…he kicked me out of his hotel room." She broke down and his instincts kicked in. He hugged her as she cried against his bare chest. Zuko knew by now that he couldn't fix anything, he just had to nod at the right moments and say nice things. When she calmed down a little, she sniffed back her tears, "You're shirtless…"

"Yeah…" He simply answered. Zuko was slightly surprised when her hand softly touched his muscles. "What are you doing?"

Her hand pulled away, "Sorry, I guess I was just trying to find some comfort. Would you mind if we talked for a little bit? I'm still a little shaken."

"Sure, I'll be right back, just make yourself comfortable," Zuko went back into his room and pulled on a shirt before coming back out to the living room. "Would you like something to drink or something?" Jin shook her head and he took a seat by her, crossing his legs before him, "Are you okay?"

Jin nodded, "Physically yes. It's just weird that he would do something like this. Lee has never been like this before. He said I 'owed' him for everything, especially since he had to drive all the way here. I can't believe I couldn't read him like I can with other people. I would have been able to tell that he was only in this just to sleep with me."

"Don't be too hard on yourself. You know that the only reason why your judgment was clouded because you cared about him. He unfortunately ignored the greatest gift a girl can give a guy," Zuko told her.

"A blow job?"

He arched an eyebrow, "No…their unconditional love."

"Oh," She blushed at her gutter minded answer. "Yeah, that was my next guess."

"You just need a nice guy that will treat you right Jin, a guy who doesn't just want you for sex. Though it's hard to find people like that now…especially at this time of night," Zuko tried to lighten the mood for her, which worked perfectly as she broke out in a laugh as she finally cleaned up her tear stained face. "So I'm guessing he's going to leave tomorrow?" She nodded, leaning against the back of the couch and closed her red eyes. "I'll call Katara and someone else to keep you busy tomorrow to help you forget this if you would like."

"Can I ask you something Zuko?" She nearly whispered.

"Sure."

Jin opened her eyes again, "Why are you being so helpful? I mean, I like it, but it just seems so weird that you would be helping someone you've just met."

"Maybe it's like what you said when we met, I'm just so trust worthy that I want to help," Zuko said, "Truthfully…I don't know, I guess I'm a sucker for damsels in distress. But you haven't given a reason to not try to help you yet, though the 'blow job' comment kind of caught me off guard." Jin covered her face as she laughed, bringing a smile to his face.

"Can we just forget that I said that?" She asked, peeking through her fingers at him.

Zuko shrugged, "I don't know, I still think it's kind of funny."

Jin stuck her tongue out at him as she removed her hands, she closed her eyes again as her head dug into the couch headrest to get more comfortable, "So, any good news with you?"

"I still have the same problems, but I don't think talking about them at this moment would be appropriate," Zuko replied.

She sighed, "My boyfriend just tried to force me into sex and when I said no, he kicked me out and dumped me…I just want something to keep it off of my mind. Just tell me some good stories, I want to know more about you."

"Well, there's a story that still makes everyone laugh except Sokka," Zuko thought out-loud. "So, it was me, Sokka, Toph, Aang and Katara at Suki's house-"

"Who are Aang, Toph and Suki?"

Zuko remembered he hadn't mentioned them to her, "Well, Suki and Toph are the girls I picked up yesterday and Aang is my best friend. I can introduce you to him tomorrow if you would like. But anyways, back to the story. Sokka was being his usual Sokka-self and had decided to explore Suki's room when he told her that he would be using her bathroom. As we watched TV downstairs, Sokka raided her underwear drawer and brought down a black lace bra on his head. If it wasn't bad enough, Toph grabbed it and said, 'these cups can be used as cereal bowls'…while Suki's still developing 15 year old cousin had been there, her body hadn't quite caught up with her. But the look on Sokka's face when Suki got a hold of him was priceless." He smiled at the thought and quickly realized Jin had fallen asleep, her body had fallen backwards on the couch. Zuko could hear her shallow breathing and couldn't help but think how cute she looked as she slept. Realizing that the thought had crossed his mind, he rubbed his eyes and got off the couch, it was too late to be thinking at the moment. He grabbed a blanket from the closet by the bedrooms and grabbed a blanket, draping it over her sleeping form, deciding that it would be easier to let her sleep here than making her walk back home. Flipping the light off in the living room, he walked back to his room and collapsed on his bed. He felt himself melt into his comfortable bed as he fell asleep.

* * *

A soft humming woke him up and the smell of his Uncle's tea wafting into his nose, as if it were trying to entice him to wake up. He rolled over and groaned softly, his eyes opened to see the toned backside of Jin as she looked around his room. "Jin?" His voice croaked. She turned around with a smile, a small cup of tea in her hand and she smiled at him.

"Well good morning sleepy head, how did you sleep?"

He sat up in his bed and held his head up from slumping down, "What are you doing in my room?"

"Sorry, I was just looking around, I hope you don't mind," Jin turned back around and looked at the pictures on the dresser. "Your Uncle woke me up and said that I can stay for as long as I wanted. I went back to my house to get a shower before coming back over. I hope he doesn't mind that I brewed myself a pot of tea."

Zuko rubbed the sleep from his eyes, "I think you're going to have to stop him from trying to adopt you. Can I get some of that?" She pointed to the nightstand by his bed as she continued to look at his pictures, a still steaming cup sat there for him. Being careful with the cup, he softly blew on it and took a small sip, enjoying the feeling of the liquid down his dry throat. "Thanks." He put the cup down and got out of bed.

"You know, you and Ty Lee make a great couple," She admired the picture of the two that his Uncle had taken before their Homecoming dance the year before. Zuko looked over her shoulder to see the picture, "Whose that?" She pointed to the picture beside the Homecoming picture, it was of him, Aang and Katara down by a lake, Zuko's arm around Aang's neck while Katara leaned her head against Aang's shoulder.

"That's Aang."

She turned to him, "Well I can't wait to meet him today, he seems like he's a kind guy."

Zuko's mind went back to the thoughts of Aang before he got hit, "He's in a coma."

Her face dropped, "Oh my gosh, what happened to him?"

"He got hit by a car, he's been out for two weeks. I've been visiting him every day ever since…and Katara has spent most of her time there with him," Zuko explained to her. "I guess I should have added that part when I told you about him last night."

"You two are really close huh?" Jin asked. He nodded as he looked back to the picture of happier times. "I would still like to meet him…even if he's in a coma. When could we go see him?"

"I need to take a shower and get dressed then we could head over." Zuko grabbed a pair of shorts and a white tank top from his drawers, "Feel free to make yourself a home…I only ask that you don't destroy anything." As he walked to the bathroom, he swore that he could hear the giggle and say 'No promises'. Once in the shower, he went fast as possible, not trusting Jin in his room alone for too long. It wasn't that he didn't just trust her, it was just that when he left girls in his room alone, they had a habit of finding things they didn't need to see. Zuko quickly dried himself after he stepped out of the shower and threw his clothes on.

He opened the door to see Jin exactly where he left her, she slowly sipped on her tea before turning towards him. "That was quick." She mused. Zuko quickly finished his tea before they left. Being so used to shutting everything out when he took his walk to Aang's, Zuko felt weird walking with just the sound of his and Jin's footsteps against the pavement. He glanced over to her, she walked with a bounce in her step and a smile on her face. She reminded him a little of Ty Lee, but her happiness was more genuine rather than Ty Lee's bubbly personality. Jin softly bumped into him and he glared at her as she just giggled. "You can talk ya know?"

"Sorry," He apologized, "I was just thinking about a couple things."

Jin smiled and poked his head, "You need to get out of there once and a while Zuko. It's good to be vocal once in a while. The world out here is wonderful Zuko." He rolled his eyes at her sarcasm and she laughed again, "Katara was right, you _really _are fun to mess with. I'll have to thank her when we see her."

"I definitely should not have introduced you to Katara," Zuko groaned. He was happy that the walk wasn't that long as they cut through the forest. After going over the bridge, Zuko held back the hedges for Jin and she looked around the back yard. "Don't worry, we're allowed to be here." He said as if reading her mind. Assuming Katara was asleep, like she usually was, Zuko opened the door and he completely froze. As per norm lately, Katara was sleeping on Aang's bed next to him, but now, Aang was awake. Before Zuko could say anything, Aang held a finger to his lips and nodded at the girl beside him. He shut the door as Jin came in and held himself back from running to his friend. "Dude, you're finally awake," Zuko barely could contain his voice to a whisper. "You have no idea how good it is to know you're okay."

His brow furrowed, "What do you mean?"

"You were in a coma for more than two weeks man," Zuko told him, "You were hit by a car."

Aang looked at the medical equipment around his room, "Well…that explains a lot. I'm glad I didn't wake up in a hospital…" Zuko tensed slightly at the mention, usually even bringing up the hospital would bring the bad memories back to Aang. "But this is a great way to wake up, a beautiful girl clutching onto me isn't a normal occurrence for me if I remember correctly. Do you know who she is?" Zuko felt his heart drop. Aang had no clue that it was Katara who was clutching onto him.

Zuko quickly prayed that it was a minor lapse in memory, "That's Katara, our best friend for years. That's who you were going to meet on the day you got hit."

Aang held his head with his free hand, "Katara…" He closed his eyes, "I can faintly remember…" He opened his eyes again and looked at Jin, "I'm really sorry, but I don't remember you either."

"You actually don't know her, that's Jin Chang. She just moved here a couple days ago. I brought her along," Zuko explained. "Do you remember any of our other friends?"

Aang's eyes went up, as if he were trying to literally look into his head, "Well there is you…Sokka…Toph, um…Suki…and one that begins with a J…"

"Jet."

He nodded, "Yeah him…"

"Maybe we should get him to a professional," Jin commented with a worried tone. As if the situation couldn't get worse, Katara started to stir awake.

Zuko's fists clenched as he anticipated what was to come. Her sapphire eyes opened to see Aang staring back at her, "Aang?" She realized her compromising position and blushed heavily as she sat up. "You're awake." Katara threw her arms around his neck and held him tight. She loosened her grip and looked at him, "Please tell me I'm not sleeping."

"You're not," Zuko answered for him. "Katara, you should call his Father so we can take Aang back to the doctors to make sure everything is fine with him." Katara nodded, but didn't let go of Aang. She pulled him in close and kissed him, Jin's hands went to her mouth. Breaking the kiss, Katara quickly got off the bed and left to get the phone.

Aang's eyes watched her as she left, "Does she usually do that to me? Because if she does, my life is awesome."

"Aang, before you start enjoying this too much, you need to just pretend that you remember her for her sake. It will break her heart if she knew the truth," Zuko told him. "Hopefully the doctor has an answer for this and everything works out, but just play along okay?"

"But I still get to kiss her right?" Aang asked to make sure he had everything clear.

He couldn't help but smile. That was the Aang he knew and loved. "Yeah." Zuko got up and walked over by Jin as Katara came back in the room and started to gather Aang's clothes.

"Your life is like a soap opera isn't it Zuko?" Jin whispered.

He ran a hand over his head, "You don't know the half of it…"

"Then I think I'm going to like it here."

* * *

Zuko fell back on his bed and sighed deeply, it was a long day. He was happy that Aang had woken up, but with him not remembering Katara, it made him wonder what else of his best friend had been lost. They had taken Aang in for the doctors to watch over him over night, which was surprising that Aang or even Gyatso would be fine with that. Both of them hated the hospital after his Mother's death and would die of the plague before wanting to stay, but the doctor insisted. After everything, Zuko had taken Jin back to her house, along with Yue's number for Ken of course. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and checked it, still nothing from Ty Lee. When she got back from the trip, he knew he was going to have to corner her and beg for her forgiveness. "Zuko." He shot up in his bed to see Ty Lee standing in his door way. There wasn't a smile on her face but neither was her usual angry glare. "Can I come in?"

"Yeah," She came in and shut the door behind her. Ty Lee sat on the bed beside him. "Ty, I'm-"

"You don't have to say anything Zuko," Ty Lee stopped him. "I'm sorry." Zuko was caught off guard, he didn't think that would have been the first thing out of her mouth. "I over-reacted yesterday and I shouldn't have acted like a child. I was going to just wait until I came back from the trip to talk to you about it…but Azula convinced me otherwise." Today ceased to surprise Zuko. "She told me that I should apologize to you because it was unfair of me to react the way I did."

Zuko put his hand on her thigh, "Ty, I shouldn't have put you in that position in the first place. I just wanted to help out Jin because she was having a hard time, then with the whole thing with Suki…I lost track of time."

"Well…how do you want to fix this?" Ty Lee asked him.

He smiled and pulled her onto his lap, bringing a blush to her cheeks, "How about…we '_spend some time_' with each other." She grinned and kissed him softly, both of them falling back on the bed. For the first time in his life, Zuko was glad his sister melded in his love life.

**-SDB**


	5. Talking with Friends

"Call me when you get there, okay?" Zuko told her as he set her bags in Azula's trunk.

Ty Lee smiled, "Of course. It might take a while to get there, Azula says we need to stop by store to get some food for the house, but I'll call you when we stop there." She pulled his head down to kiss him, her tongue pressed against his lips, asking for entrance. He allowed her in and pulled her closer, enjoying the intimate moment with his girlfriend. Breaking the kiss, Ty Lee smiled, "I love you Zuko."

"I love you too Ty." They shared another kiss before Ty Lee got into the car, he turned to see Azula coming down the walkway with her bags.

He held back a laugh at how many she had with her, "Do you want some help with that Zula? I would be more than glad to help." She didn't answer him as she continued to try to make the one trip to the car. Zuko sighed and walked up to meet her, grabbing a majority of her bags from her, "If you asked for help once in a while Zula, I'm sure people would more than likely help."

She glared at him, "I didn't need help." Zuko helped her anyways, putting the bags in the truck, beside Ty Lee's bags. Once all her bags were in, Zuko shut the truck and looked towards a still annoyed Azula, "Just because you're my older brother, doesn't mean I need your help Zuzu."

"Just let me be an older brother for once Azula," Zuko said. "I also wanted to thank you for the thing with Ty, it was…_nice_ of you." He was surprised the universe stayed intact when he used 'Azula' and 'nice' in the same sentence.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Zuko was amazed at what Azula's pride would convince her to say. "If I did anything, it was obviously the wrong thing if she thinks I wanted you to stay with you." He rolled his eyes and pulled her in for a hug, "What are you doing?"

Zuko ignored her protests, "Thank you…and be safe, okay?"

Azula finally gave in and hugged him back, "I will." He smiled as she finally accepted him. When they broke away, Azula cleared her throat awkwardly, "Well…I will see you on Sunday." She quickly made a b-line to her door to keep herself from anymore brother-sister moments. Zuko stepped up on the curb as Azula started the car, Ty Lee waved from the window as the car took off down the street. He took a deep breath, he felt like he finally got his sister to stop controlling Ty Lee to do her bidding when it came to their relationship. Looking across the street, he saw that Jin's shades were drawn back and could see right into her room. A smile pulled at his lips as he saw her dancing around, most likely music was blaring in her room by the look of the dancing. He felt weird spying on her, but in his defense, her shades and curtains were pulled back and he just so happened to be in a place where he could see her. Her body turned towards the window as she whipped her head around and opened her eyes to see Zuko staring at her, she shrieked and fell over. He knew it was the wrong thing to do, but he laughed as he walked back to his walkway. Zuko felt his pocket vibrate and he fished his phone out. It was a text from his newest added contact to his phone, making him smile. '**You DIDN'T just see that!**'. Zuko couldn't help it again and burst out laughing. '**Don't worry Footloose, I won't tell anyone**.'.

"Hey Zuko," He let his phone fall back into his pocket and turned around to see an unexpected face. Aang was walking up the driveway with his usual huge smile. He wore a white zip up hoodie with the sleeves removed with, what he guessed, nothing under it and a pair of blue shorts. "What's up man?"

"Aang, aren't you supposed to still be in the hospital?" Zuko asked.

He shook his head, "There was no way I was going to stay there any longer. I remember a lot of things still and my memory is getting better. For example, I remembered getting hit by the car on my way here. Though it took me almost being hit by a car again to remember it." Aang saw the look on his friend's face at his last statement, "Don't worry, it was just some dude running a red before I walked out in the crosswalk."

"So your Dad is cool with you coming over here?"

Aang shrugged, "I don't know, I left early in the morning. I decided to come over here after getting a huge stack of pancakes, it's been a while since I've had a good breakfast."

"Yeah, about 2 weeks," Zuko muttered, "Come on in, I need to grab something to eat because it feels like _I_ haven't had anything to eat in 2 weeks." He led the way to the kitchen, Aang took a seat on the bar stool while Zuko raided the fridge. "So while you were out, what was it like?"

"Honestly? It's like sleeping, you're just dreaming for longer. Nothing really special." Aang told him as Zuko pulled out a leftover bowl of teriyaki chicken with rice, he placed it in the microwave to heat it up. "The dream I was basically stuck in was almost like some weird medieval world, you were there and so was Sokka. I spent the whole time trying to save the princess that was stuck in the tower, but I could never reach her. Near the end, I could hear her voice…which now I'm guessing was Katara's voice."

Zuko grabbed a fork from the drawer as the microwave went off, "Huh, I wonder why that happened." Aang fake laughed at Zuko's sarcasm. "You've been in love with Katara even before I knew you. But now, you have her worshipping your every step."

"Well, I'm starting to remember more about Katara lately, like the time that I spent with her after her break up and she went directly to Haru after. Also when we went to the lake and she wore that tight bikini. I'm really hoping I'm going to get more memories like that soon," Aang joked.

"If they don't, you can make new ones soon," Zuko laughed. "And all it took was you getting smashed by a car. You really will do anything to get out of the friend-zone huh?" He felt his phone go off in his pocket and already knew who it was. Pulling it out, he answered it and put his phone between his ear and shoulder, "Hey Katara."

As he assumed, her voice was filled with panic, "Zuko, Aang is gone! He checked himself out of the hospital and just left, he didn't go home and no one has seen him. As far as we know, he could be wondering along the streets, not knowing where he is."

"Katara, relax, Aang is here with me." Zuko said, "He's perfectly fine. Why do you think he would be wondering the streets? It's not like he has amnesia."

"Zuko! Why didn't you tell me that he was there! I have been worrying for the past hour about him!"

He set his bowl down, "He just got here like 2 minutes ago Katara, relax."

"I'm on my way over," She hung up the phone and Zuko just sighed, Katara was too overly dramatic.

Aang half-heartedly laughed, "She really must care about me if she's going to freak out that much."

"You have no clue," Zuko ate some of his lunch, "Every time I came over, she was exhausted and passed out. The only time Katara has left your side was when I dragged her to a party a couple days ago. At first it was the guilt that she had for your accident, but after a day or so, it was easy to tell that she started looking at you in another way…though the dreams she was having about you before the accident may have been a tip that she was falling for you."

"Really?" Zuko nodded. "Why didn't she tell me?"

Zuko gave him a blank stare, "You were hit by a car?"

Aang chuckled, "Oh yeah…" Zuko's front door opened and both of the boys just waited for her to come in steaming mad. She rounded the corner into the kitchen and she immediately hugged Aang.

"You had me worried!" She said against his chest. "No one had any way to get a hold of you." Zuko held back his laughter as he continued to eat. "Are you okay? How's your head feeling?"

She grabbed onto his head and looked around for any sign of injury, but Aang grabbed her hands and removed them from his head, "Katara, relax. I'm perfectly fine. My mind is fine…I think. I knew exactly where I was going and I knew how to get here. I just wanted to get something to eat and I came over to hang out with Zuko. I would have called or something, but I didn't have my cell phone."

Katara sighed to relax herself, "I know, I'm sorry for freaking out. But after watching over you for the longest time…it's hard to not go into that mode anymore."

He smiled, "Good…can I get a kiss?" Katara couldn't help but smile also and gave him a kiss, her arms going around his neck to pull him in closer.

Zuko made gagging noises until they stopped and Katara glared at him. "What? You always gave me crap when Ty and I kiss, but you and Aang are off limits?" She rolled her eyes at him and gave Aang another kiss before breaking apart. "So, now that you two are together, are you going to share a room when we go to the cabin this summer?"

Aang's face lit up, "We're going to the cabin this summer?" Zuko nodded. He turned to Katara, "You should wear that tight blue bikini."

Ignoring his comment, Katara turned to Zuko, "You got the cabin even though we didn't know how long Aang was going to come out of the coma?"

"I told you that he would come out of it before we left and if we didn't, it would be a good place to go to get you out of Aang's room. The trip is in 3 weeks, so that gives you time to get over your protective Mothering state and enjoy yourself for once this summer," Zuko said, "And to get a tighter bikini for him." Both boys laughed as Katara gave him an angry glare. "Oh come on, the man has been in a coma after being hit by a car because of you, the least you can do for him is give him a great view."

"If he agrees with you, this is the least amount of clothes he'll ever see on me," Katara told him, she turned to Aang, "So what do you say now?" He pretended to zip his lips. "That's what I thought."

He finished his bowl, "Well, since you are going to be a stick in the mud, I'm going to invite Suki and Yuki, maybe that new couple will be better than you two."

"Wait, Suki and Yuki are together?" Aang questioned.

"Suki recently found out that she likes Yuki and I think that Yuki swings that way, _but_ Suki still hasn't asked her out yet as far as I know," Katara explained. "If we're going to be inviting people along, why not invite Jin? You two have been hanging out quite a lot lately."

Zuko placed his bowl in the sink, "She's been here for like 5 days Katara, I'm trying to help her fit in. I remember when you were new and didn't fit in, who were the two people that were there for you?"

"Aang was the first person that was there for me, he literally had to beg you to hang out with me," Katara told him.

"But I was there for you right?" Katara rolled her eyes and took Aang's hand, dragging him out of the house. "You're such a sore loser Katara," He called after her with a smile on his face.

* * *

Zuko walked down the sidewalk and checked his phone again. He had gotten a text from Suki telling him to come over. He took it as a chance to invite her and Yuki to the cabin with them. Though the walk was longer than the one he usually took to Aang's, he enjoyed getting some fresh air once in a while…and his last paycheck wasn't as hefty as it usually was and he was running low on gas. His phone vibrated and he opened the message. **Jin: Hey, what are you up to?**

**Zuko: I'm going over to a friend's house, you?**

**Jin: I'm extremely bored, Ken has been on the phone with Yue FOREVER!**

**Zuko: Go to the Badger Café by the supermarket, Toph is working today and can keep you company.**

**Jin: Toph?**

**Zuko: Oh yeah, you haven't met her. Don't worry, she's cool. Tell her your Katara's friend.**

**Jin: Why not tell her I'm your friend?**

**Zuko: Because I would rather her not tell you any stories about me I don't want you to know about.**

**Jin: I'm SO telling her now :P**

He shook his head and sighed, putting his phone back in his pocket. Jin was going to be an interesting friend to have. Walking through the rich neighborhoods of Ba Sing Se, Zuko finally stopped in front of Suki's giant house. It had two stories with a pale color that Zuko had said was just 'white' before, only to be correct by Katara and Suki with some name that went in one ear and right out the other. Using the brick walk way instead of the well treated lawn to get to the door, he lightly knocked on the door. Before he knocked again after waiting for a couple moments, the door swung open and a man stood in the doorway, "How may I help you?" The man wore a nice black suit which seemed to brighten his pale white skin and blonde hair. He obviously wasn't related to Suki.

"Uh, I'm Zuko. I'm here to meet Suki? She told me to meet her here," Zuko told the man. He nodded and stepped aside. Stepping inside, Zuko remembered the marble floor and two sets of stair cases that were along both walls, a door way below them that led into the living room and a giant chandelier hanging above him. To make a long story short, Suki's parents were loaded. He turned towards the man, but he was gone, sending a small shiver up Zuko's spine, though the idea of Suki having a ghost answer her door would sound really cool. He decided to check her room first, climbing the right set of stairs, his footsteps echoing along the giant room. Reaching the top step, he let out a tired breath, instantly remembering that he had promised himself that he would start working out a couple days ago. Zuko walked to the door that he remembered to be Suki's and opened it, his jaw nearly dropping to the floor. On Suki's bed were Suki and Yuki, minus both of their tops. Both girls instantly covered themselves up and Zuko shut the door.

"Zuko, what the hell?" He heard her call from the other side of the door.

"You told me to come over, how was I supposed to know that you would be topless?!" Zuko shouted.

"You could have knocked!"

"You could have worn a friggin' shirt!"

The door opened with a slightly angry, but more embarrassed, Suki. Yuki sat on the bed, her hands covering her candy apple red face. "I'm sorry, I didn't expect things to go that way, though I can't say anything bad about it. I was inviting you to talk about _something_, but that something showed up unexpectedly."

"So then…I'm not needed?" Zuko asked, hoping to get the image out of his head. Normally an image like that would be nice, but like Toph, Suki was like his sister.

"Well you came all the way here," Suki smiled, "Come on in." Reluctantly Zuko walked into the room, taking a seat in her computer chair. Suki shut the door and sat back down next to Yuki.

"So…" Zuko spoke up, "You two are together now?"

The two girls shared a look, both of their faces flushing with red before Yuki nodded. "I've liked Suki for a while and I felt like I needed to let her know of my feelings, even if she didn't return them. But," She smiled, "Thankfully, she liked me back."

"Well I'm happy for you two," Zuko said, "Since it's going well between you two, how would you two like to come to the cabin with Aang, Katara, Ty Lee and I? We have plenty of rooms…or just the one if you two want to share a room."

"I'll have to ask my parents, but I'll go," Yuki smiled, she looked to her new girlfriend, "How about you?"

She took her hand, "I wouldn't miss the chance to see you in a bikini."

Zuko rolled his eyes, "If this is how it's going to be now that you two are together, I think I'm going to take back the invitation."

"Oh relax Zuko. While you're inviting people, you should invite that girl Jin. From what Sokka told me, she's really nice…and also that you have a crush on her."

Zuko was taken by surprise by the comment, "I don't have a crush on Jin, I'm with Ty Lee."

"That doesn't mean you can't still like someone Zuko," Suki smiled, "It seemed to make sense because Katara told me that you're hanging out with her all the time."

"Well I'm no longer talking to either of those two," Zuko muttered, "I don't like Jin that way, she's just a friend. I'm perfectly fine with my great relationship with my girlfriend."

"Uh huh, I'll be the judge of that when we all go to Jet's party this weekend. I want to meet Jin and then we'll close the case on Zuko's love triangle," Suki told him.

"Can we change the subject please?" Zuko asked.

Suki looked to Yuki with a smile, then back to Zuko, "So Yuki, who do you think will be better for Zuko, Jin or Ty Lee?"

* * *

After Suki finally dropped the Jin subject, he stayed for a little while longer, watched a movie and finally got out of there to go to work. He tied the apron around his waist and sighed, Suki's comments getting to him more than he really wanted them to. As usual, he filled a couple kettles full of water, his Uncle loving to make tea the old fashioned way. Zuko was just lucky that his Uncle wasn't talking about ancient China when wanting to be old fashioned. "Zuko," He looked up to see his Uncle walking into the back. "We need a pot of Green and Ginseng." Zuko set the two pots down on stove tops and turned on the burners, while his Uncle grabbed the tea leaves from their containers.

The bell for the counter rang, "I got it." Zuko sped walked out of the back and pushed his way through the kitchen door to see a couple by the register. "Welcome to the Jasmine Dragon," Zuko learned how to fake his smile by working here enough, nothing keeps customer's away more than a teenager that hates talking to strangers. "Is it just two for you today?" The man nodded. "Okay, I'll show you to your table." Zuko walked to the end of the counter and led them to the other end of the shop in the back, possibly their most private booth. "Here you go, what can I get you to drink?"

The couple slid into the booth, "How about some coffee?"

If Zuko was allowed to be sarcastic to the customers, he would have trouble picking which response would be funnier. "We don't have coffee…this is a _tea_ shop sir."

"So you only have tea?"

He felt his eye twitch, "Basically…"

"Just iced tea then," The man told him.

Zuko couldn't blame this part of their stupidity, they obviously didn't understand his Uncle's feelings on 'iced' tea. "Actually sir, we don't have iced tea, how about I get you some chai tea, it's very good."

The girl clapped her hands together, "I _love_ chi tea, especially Starbuck's chai tea."

"Well…that's technically still iced tea, this one will be hot," Zuko explained, he wondered if his Uncle would let him smack his head against a wall in front of the customers.

"Fine, we'll take that," Zuko gave them a half bow before returning to the kitchen and letting out an angry grunt, "People are freaking clueless. Uncle, we need a pot of Chai tea." He filled another pot to put on the burner. Another ring from the bell sent his aggravation into overdrive. "The service industry would be _so_ much better without customers."

"Nephew, you need to calm down," Iroh attempted to calm him, "You mustn't be a three-day monk Zuko."

Zuko gave him a crazed look, "Do you just have a daily calendar that gives you these sayings?" He didn't wait for his answer as he went through the door, but was surprised to see Jet standing at the counter. "Hey man, what are you doing here?"

Jet rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, something was up. "I need to tell you something man. Is there any way we can speak in private?"

He looked through the window to see his Uncle humming while he made the tea, "Uh yeah, I got a couple minutes." They went to an open booth and took a seat, "What's going on man?"

"Well…you can't shoot the messenger, okay?" Jet said.

Zuko sighed, "Dude, just tell me. I'm supposed to be working right now." Jet hesitated for a moment, but reached into his pocket and swiped his finger along the screen a couple times before handing the phone over to Zuko. His face dropped when he saw the picture. Zuko wanted to throw the phone, flip the table, maybe saw some mean words to the idiot couple from before, but his body just froze and became numb. On the screen was his sister, taking a picture for Jet, blowing a kiss to him. But it wasn't what was in the foreground of the picture that made Zuko feel like his world was ending…but it was the couple making out behind her. "…Ty Lee cheated on me…"

**-SDB**


	6. Zuko's World Collapses

The morning was crisp and cool, but it felt like mid-day to him as he jogged down the street. It was at least 5 am and the sun was just peeking through the trees. His music blocked out the outside world, which was just the way he wanted it. Usually he would be tired by now, but his body became accustomed to his new morning runs. Zuko used his forearm to wipe off the sweat that attempted to get into his eyes. He passed by some of the early birds that were already off to work and earned some stares, though Zuko assumed it was because he was only in a pair of shorts and shoes. His already present muscles became more defined with his recent fitness routine and with how high his temperature would climb, he ditched the shirt. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a small motorbike driving beside him. He ignored it, assuming it would soon pass him. After 30 seconds, it hadn't passed and he turned to look at who had decided to follow him. He was surprised to see Jin riding a white motorbike, a small green helmet sat on her head with a warm smile on her face and a to-go cup of what he assumed was tea in her hand. Zuko took out his ear buds and hung them around his neck, "Where did you get that?"

"It's my Dad's 'I'm sorry for making you move' gift. He got Ken a TV for his room, but I'm obviously his favorite," Jin joked. "Why haven't you answered any of our calls?"

"I've been busy," Zuko lied.

Jin glanced in front of her, making she wasn't going to hit anything. "Zuko, you don't need to lie, we all heard what happened."

"Then we don't need to discuss it."

"And you don't need to run away from your problems…figuratively _and_ literally," Jin reasoned. "We're worried about you Zuko…especially me. You helped me when Lee kicked me out of that hotel room and now it's my job to help you."

Zuko shook his head, "No it's not. My problems are my problems. I can handle them on my own."

"Says the guy who shut out all of his friends and doesn't even bother to talk to his friends for four days. Zuko, that's not handling a problem. You're using exercise to ignore how you truly feel," Jin said. "I know how you feel."

He slowed to a stop, "You do? _You_ know how _I_ feel? Your asshole of an ex dumped you for not putting out. My girlfriend _cheated_ on me not even a day after she left for vacation. A girl who I've been with for years. A girl who I _finally _told that I loved her…and she just threw that back in my face like it didn't mean anything! You have _no _idea how I feel."

"No…I do," She returned his same hostile tone. "Lee cheated on me…" He felt her words hit him like a ton of bricks. Guilt weighed heavy on him as his words played back in his mind. "He told me before I left the room, I didn't tell you because it hurt me so bad that he would do that to me. So yes Zuko…_I_ know _exactly_ how _you_ feel."

Zuko ran his hand over his sweaty head, "I'm sorry…but I still don't need any help." He continued on his run, but of course Jin continued to follow him. "Why don't you just go back home Jin?"

"Because I already paid for a $4.50 cup of tea from the only place that was open this early waiting for you, do you know how much of a jip that is?" She asked. "Plus I promised Katara and Suki that I would help you."

He let out an exhausted breath as he felt his body go weak for a moment, but kept jogging, "So you met Suki huh?"

"Yeah, at the party you didn't go to," Jin reminded him. "She and her girlfriend are really cute together, they're the first lesbian couple I've ever met. But that's completely off subject, they're worried about you Zuko, though Katara seemed a little in different."

"I'll be fi-" Zuko's vision went black and he collapsed on the sidewalk. Jin immediately stopped her Vespa and ran to his aid.

"Zuko…Zuko!" She rolled him onto his back, a small trail of blood started to trickle down his head. Jin quickly look around her and saw a woman had seen the whole thing. "Call an ambulance!" The woman nodded and ran into her house as Jin turned her attention to Zuko. She leaned down to listen to his breathing which seemed steady, giving her a wave of relief. "Don't worry Zuko, help is on the way."

* * *

_The horse galloped across the open field, Zuko held the reigns and leaned forward on the saddle. He had went through so much to get this far, to get to his Princess in the tower that had finally come into view. Zuko whipped the reigns to make the horse go faster, even though the horse was going as fast as it could. Once he was in the shadow of the tower, he pulled the reigns, the horse halted as fast as it could. He threw his leg over the horse and got down, pulling off his helmet, the air cooling his head. A lock on the door seemed to be his final obstacle. Zuko used his anger to throw his weight at the door, it barely budged. He backed up again and drove his shoulder into the door again, the lock finally breaking and he continued in. "Princess! I'm here to save you!" He called and started up the stairs. Taking three steps at a time, he reached the top in no time and burst through the door. The Princess's brunette hair swayed as she turned to him._

"_My hero," She smiled, running into his arms and kissing him. Her arms went around his neck as his hands rested on her hips. The Princess pulled away, her eyes opened to reveal their olive green color. "I love you Prince Zuko."_

His eyes opened and the steady beat of the heart monitor rang in his ears. Zuko groaned and grabbed his head, but felt a sharp pain in his right arm. "Don't mess with the IVs," He turned to see Jin sitting beside him.

"What happened?"

"The doctors said that you fainted due to dehydration. You hit your head when you passed out. They're going to want to check to see if you have any brain damage because of how hard you hit your head," Jin explained to him. She looked down at her hands and sadly smiled, "You know what's funny? I sat through a 7 hour First Aid class to learn how to help people and they told us that you'll panic at first, knowing that whatever you do, it could mean life or death for the person until help arrives. But, it wasn't that way with you…I panicked, but it was because I cared for you and it was freaky seeing you like that." Zuko reached over and put his left hand over hers, making her look up at him, tears brimming in her eyes.

"I'm perfectly fine, I just forgot to get something to drink this morning and who knows what would have happened if you weren't there Jin," Zuko calmed her. "Thank you for doing whatever you could for me Jin…even if I could have easily avoided it by at least drinking something."

She chuckled as she wiped away her tears, "Stop trying to make me laugh, this is serious Zuko." Zuko just smiled as she continued to laugh. The door to the room opened with Azula, Iroh and the doctor coming into the room.

"Ah, you're up," The doctor said as they walked in, Iroh went to the chair on the other side of the bed while Azula stayed against the farthest wall, staying silent. The doctor walked up beside him, "Since you have hit your head, I just want to make sure that you're fine, so I'm just going to give you a couple tests. Now, follow my finger with your eyes without moving your head." He easily followed his finger and the doctor checked it off on his clipboard. "Okay, what is the date today Zuko?"

"June 17th, which is a Monday," He answered. The doctor checked off another mark.

"And who is the President?"

"Roku Kobayashi."

The doctor nodded, "Everything seems fine, which is great news. I'll come back later to check in on you, we just want to make sure that you're fully hydrated before you step out of here, okay?" Zuko nodded and the doctor excused himself.

"How are you feeling nephew?" Iroh finally asked.

"Fine," Zuko assured him, "I just wasn't thinking and didn't have something to drink. I'm just lucky that Jin was there to help me. I'll be fine, I'll remember to bring water with me next time." He looked at his sister, Zuko couldn't tell if she was trying to be worried for him or ready to call him stupid. She hadn't been put in a situation like this since their parents died. There was a knock on the door and all the attention was turned to the man awkwardly stepping into the room.

Only his Uncle seemed to know who this man was, "Ikem, what are you doing here?"

"I guess I'm still on the emergency contact list," The man told him.

"Uncle, who is he?" Zuko asked

"…Zuko…we've been meaning to keep this from you, but I guess it's time for you to find out…this is your _real _Father…Ikem Kato." Zuko was speechless as his sister couldn't hold back her own surprise. "It seems like my brother kept his name on the emergency contact list…"

His eyes didn't leave Ikem, the man that was his actual Father. Things started to make sense, why he was nothing like his sister or his Father, the lack of information about him as a baby and his 'Father's' increased pressure on him than Azula. "I'm sorry Iroh," His Father spoke, "I only came because I thought I would only get a call if it was very important."

Zuko finally found his words, "Why have I never met you before…why didn't my parents tell me about you?"

"Your Mother didn't want you to get to know me Zuko," Ikem told him. "I wasn't exactly Father material for you. The only reason why your Father left me on the contact list is because we share a B- blood type."

"So you didn't even want to get to know me at all? Not even wait to know how I felt about it?"

Ikem sighed and shifted his weight, "Zuko, your Mother didn't want me near you and I am going to respect her feelings. Ozai adopted you as his own and I was basically erased from your life. I have a family now that knows nothing of my son that I had out of wedlock and I have to keep it that way. I'm sorry you had to find out this way Zuko…" The tan man turned and walked out of the room. Jin turned to Zuko, it was as if watching his whole world crumble down around him.

* * *

Zuko let out a smoke ring and blew out the rest through the ring. He sat in front of the koi pond, he hadn't left that spot since getting back from the hospital. His Uncle made sure to keep him hydrated, he looked down at the 10th cup of water that he had put there for him. Though he thanked him for the attempt, but he didn't really feel like talking to him after what had been dropped on him today. He heard the sliding glass door open and he sighed, hoping it wasn't another attempt from his Uncle. Zuko looked behind him to see it was just his sister, still not sure whether or not he should be happy or mad that it was her. He took another hit as she crossed the grass to him and sat in one of the deck chairs, "Are you smoking weed?" He nodded as he blew out another smoke cloud. "How stupid are you that you want to smoke weed now?"

"Talk to me after Jet cheats on you, you end up in the hospital and then find out that your own Father isn't actually your Father and your real Father…" Zuko felt his anger return, "…your real Father doesn't give a _fucking shit_ about you…" Zuko took another drag, "I'm just wanting a moment to forget it, can I just ask for that Azula?"

She was silent for a couple moments as he finished the rolled cigarette, "I'm sorry that you had to find out that way…"

"How many times has she cheated on me?"

"She told me a couple times, but this was the first time I found out about it. If it means anything, I yelled at her until she cried. Ty Lee knows that she is not welcome in this house anymore," Azula told him. "You should have seen it Zuko, it was possibly some of my best humiliation I've done."

Zuko put out the joint and laid out on the lawn, "It's good to hear Azula, really, I'm sure you're very proud of yourself."

Azula looked down at her lap, "You do know I'm trying my best here to be a good sister. The least you can do is acknowledge my efforts."

He looked at his sister, Zuko wanted to say the rudest thing he could to her, but he couldn't. He wasn't sure it was that he just didn't care anymore or it was the weed that Sokka had dropped off for hi, but he just couldn't. "Thanks Zula," Zuko muttered before looking back at the pond.

"If it means anything, you're still my brother no matter what…and I still love you like my brother." He could tell she was trying to actually be nice, "And I will still share Mother and Father's inheritance with you."

"Thank you for trying Zula, but you don't have to," He told her, "It's not about whether I'm your brother…whether Uncle Iroh is my real Uncle…it's just that I got an atom bomb dropped on me in the past four days. I loved Ty Lee and she cheated on me. When I tried to run away from my problems, I land myself in a hospital and find out I have an asshole of a Father."

"Ozai wasn't much better," She pointed out.

Zuko couldn't help but chuckle, he never would have thought about Ozai being a better Father than someone else. "Nothing like the threat of physical violence to make you do chores or yelling at a 8 year old for not getting a satisfactory grade on her homework." He saw her face darken as she lowered her head at the thought. Zuko reached into his pocket and pulled out the baggie that Sokka had given him. "Hey, how about you come sit down next to me and we can relax?" He held up the baggie.

"Zuko-"

"Come on Zula," He stopped her, "You just need to relax, it won't be that bad. I promise I won't tell anyone, okay?" She was hesitant for a moment and looked back at the house before going over and sitting down next to her brother, both of them spending time alone together for the first time since they were kids.

* * *

Zuko pulled his keys from his pocket as he walked out to his truck. This would be the first time going to see his friends since he had found out about Ty Lee. Before he could get to his car, he heard a cheer voice call his name. He looked across the street to see Jin coming towards him. Letting out a sigh, he wondered how he was going to word this to her where he was going. "Hey Zuko, what are you up to?"

"Going over to Sokka and Katara's for the night, their parents are out of town," Zuko instantly wanted to punch himself in the face for telling that part, but he knew he would feel even worse if he lied too much to her.

"Would you mind if I tagged along? Katara said something about making brownies and I could really go for some," Zuko rubbed the back of his neck, wishing he wasn't put in this situation.

"Well…there is something I should tell you about those brownies Jin," He hated the fact that he needed to tell her the truth because his conscious would never rest if he tried to blow her off. "They're…_space_ brownies. Like, they will get you high."

She blinked a couple times, "So…they made…_pot_ brownies?" Zuko reluctantly nodded. He felt like shit when she gave him that same look. Jin looked back at her house, then back to him, leaning over the truck, "What's it like?"

Her question caught him off guard. He always thought that Jin would be the girl that would protest the usage of the drug, telling people that it would ruin their lives. But she looked at him with an excited expression. "I guess it just takes the edge off for a while. Just to take some time away from everything is…well…relaxing." Zuko didn't tell her the real reason why he had started smoking recently. He couldn't handle everything, just thinking about that hospital room made him want to claw his brains out. He knew it was stupid, but he couldn't help it.

Jin gave him a soft smile, "Well…could I still go with you?"

"Are you sure you want to? I mean, we're going to be there the whole night," Zuko told her.

She nodded, "I would just need to call my Dad, I'll just tell him I'm spending the night with Katara." Jin got on her phone as Zuko got into his truck, his guilt was beginning to annoy him. His whole world had crumbled beneath him and he was dragging the innocent Jin Cheng with him. He knew he should just send her back home, but he knew she wouldn't leave, she wanted to be there for him. The door opened and she sat down, "He said I can go, I told him you're just going to give me a ride over." Zuko put his key into the ignition and the engine roared to life. He remained silent the drive over, out of the corner of his eye he could see Jin glancing over at him every now and again. Stopping in front of the Aqua residence, Zuko and Jin got out and he knocked on the door. He looked over at Jin, he was still waiting for her to back out of it, but she kept a smile on her face when they made eye contact.

Katara opened the door, "Hey Zuko…and Jin," The dark skinned girl was taken back at seeing her. "I know you're here for the brownies…but what are you doing here Jin?"

"I'm here for the brownies too," Jin told her. Katara blinked a couple times before she accepted what the girl wanted.

"Okay," She stepped aside and let them in. They stood in the living room while Katara shut the door, "Welcome to my house." It wasn't a big house, to their left was the hall for the bedrooms and bathrooms and to the right was the archway into the kitchen. "Don't worry about our parents, they won't be home for a while."

Zuko turned off his phone, knowing the last thing he needed after the brownies was a call from a family member. "Why are you so cool about doing this Katara? I thought you hated the fact that your brother smokes." Katara nodded towards the kitchen, Zuko made his way over to the archway and saw Sokka and Toph already waiting for them, Aang was stirring the bowl full of brownie batter, "Your boyfriend is here?"

She leaned up against the doorway with a sigh, "With being in that coma, he's been wanting to try new things. Hopefully it won't be a common thing." Katara looked over to Zuko, "It's good to see you again Zuko, I hope you're feeling better."

"Thanks Katara." The group made small talk as they waited for the brownies. Whenever Zuko was brought into the conversation and what he had been up to, he always steered the attention away from himself, either by asking a completely off topic question or asking how much longer the brownies had. Once they were done and cooled, Sokka cut everyone a big piece and handed them out, Katara gave him a weird look when he put one in front of her.

"Well, me and Toph are going to veg out in my room, have fun," Sokka gave them a salute and pulled Toph with as she took a bite out of her brownie.

Aang picked up Katara's, "You should try some Kat, it looks really good." Before she could protest, he held it in front of her mouth with a smile. She hated the fact that he could make her do anything with that smile of his. Katara took a bite, knowing in the back of her head that she would regret it later.

After chewing it for a few seconds, she was surprised at the taste, "This is actually really good."

"Don't eat too much, you don't know how strong that is," Zuko warned her, he turned to give Jin the same message, but she was already finishing her last bit, "This won't be good…"

Ten minutes later, Zuko laid on the couch in the living room, the effects of the brownie kicking in very nicely. Just lying on the couch felt amazing, his body not wanting to move a muscle. Against his body's wishes, Zuko turned his head to look at Jin, who seemed to be attempting to make carpet angels. An occasional giggle would leave her, but other than that, a comfortable silence stayed in the room. "Zuko?" Her head turned towards him, "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure," He slowly replied, his mind obviously somewhere else at the moment.

"Can I come lay up there with you? The carpet is starting to freak me out…there is just…_so much_ of it _everywhere_." She said.

Having Jin laying on the couch with him was a great thing in his mind whether high or not, "Yeah." Though when he agreed, he didn't exactly see what was coming next. Jin dropped herself on top of him, her arms going around his torso and her face cuddled up against his neck. Her breath against his skin felt even better than the couch.

"You're so comfy Zuko," She laughed as she held him a little tighter, "I've always thought you would feel like this." He usually would have freaked out by this point, the only thing his body did was hold her. "I was so worried about you when none of us saw you for those 4 days." Her lips lightly kissed his neck. "To see your life fall apart like that," She kissed his neck again, "The look in your eyes," Another kiss, "I wanted nothing more but to see you smile again." Zuko looked down at her, "I'm talking too much aren't I?" He nodded before capturing her lips, she took a quick intake of breath before settling into the kiss.

**If you've read any of my other stories, you should recognize the last part is partially taken from my Failed Aang harem story. I think it worked better in this story. But anyways, thanks for reading yet another chapter, I have a new story in the works and hopefully it will do good. I'm going to start working on another Aang the Air Nomad chap, but stories might slow down now since I have a new job. So until next time...**

**-SDB**


	7. Light in the Darkness

**It's been awhile right? Well, with 30 ideas for stories flying at me, it's a little hard to get back to these fics. Aang the Air Nomad is still coming along also with a long Zuki one-shot. But I hope this is worth the wait.**

He shot up as he woke up; another bad dream plagued his mind. Zuko remembered he had fallen asleep with Jin on top of him…and the kissing. He cursed, that shouldn't have happened. The smell of pancakes wafted into his nose and he instantly rose off the couch. He rubbed the pain from his neck from the way he slept the night before as he walked into the kitchen. Katara laid a fresh stack of pancakes on the plate which Aang took and set on the table, in front of Jin. They made brief eye contact before he walked over to Katara. He arched a brow at the smile on her face, "I've never known you to be a morning person," He rubbed the sleep from his eyes. A blush spread on her face as she continued on the pancakes. Zuko looked over to his friend and then back to Katara, "Wow…really? How was it?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about," She told him, but the smile would leave her face. "It's just a good morning."

Zuko looked over to Aang again. "Aang, did you and Tara have sex last night?" If he could spot a lie on anyone's face, it would be Aang's and he clearly read the attempt. Aang tried to lie but Zuko stopped him, "Well good for you two, I hope everything went good."

"Well how did everything between you two go?" Katara countered, a blush going over Jin's face. "I came out here earlier to see you two cuddling on the couch. I hope you two used protection."

"Zuko and I didn't do anything last night Katara," Jin spoke up for him. "We actually know how to control ourselves when under the influence." Zuko couldn't help but laugh at how red Katara's face got, Jin would definitely fit in with their group perfectly.

Katara put a stack of pancakes on a plate for Zuko, "You know you two would make a great couple." They both had brief eye contact before looking back towards their plates. "Don't you think Aang? Zuko and Jin…"

Aang gave them a look over, "Yeah, they seem like they would be great together."

"I don't think it's a great time to be thinking about Zuko getting together with someone," Jin said, "He's still getting over his ex-girlfriend and it wouldn't be right." Zuko wondered what last night was about then. Maybe she thought last night shouldn't have happened also, it would be a lot less awkward.

"Well, I'm just saying," Katara continued, "I'm not trying to make you two get together, but you two would really make a great couple."

"Katara, stop," Zuko finally spoke up, his tone coming off a little more angry than he wanted it to. "Can we just stop talking about this?" The conversation died as the four ate, only the silverware hitting the plate. Zuko noticed that Jin would look up from her plate to look at him for a moment before returning to her plate. He finished his plate, "Thanks for the food Katara." She finished as he got up and he took her plate for her. Zuko walked into the living room to see Sokka and Toph coming out, he was only in his shorts and Toph wore one of his shirts to cover her body.

Sokka rubbed his eye, "Hey man, who made pancakes?"

"Your sister, she has some for you two," He told them. Zuko sat down on the couch and tied his shoes. Jin came out into the living room.

"Can you and I talk?" She asked. He nodded and they walked out to his truck. Jin sat down on the back. "So…that kiss…"

"Well, kiss_es_," Zuko automatically corrected.

Jin slightly smiled, "Sorry, kiss_es_." She looked down at her hands, "I know you're still getting over _you know who_ and it must be hard dealing with everything that was dropped on you in the hospital…but I want to be there for you Zuko. I know you don't like to let your guard down too much, even in front of Aang, but I want to be the person that you can talk to."

"How do you know I don't like to let my guard down?"

"You were gone for 4 days Zuko…and it's not that hard to tell you don't like to," Zuko wasn't that surprised that she read that off of him. "I think I can help Zuko. Even if you don't think that I can help, it's good to let out your feelings."

"If you want to help…then why did you kiss me last night?" Zuko asked.

There was that blush again, "I thought that would be obvious." She looked up at him. "Why else would I have been waiting for you that morning? I only promised Katara and Suki that I would do it because I wanted to see you. Why would I come over here and eat space brownies with you…"

Zuko ran a hand over his short hair, "Jin…"

"I know…" Her voice almost going down to a whisper, "I just couldn't help myself last night. It's not the right time and it hasn't exactly been a long time since I got here."

"No, it's not that…" Zuko said, "it's just…my life is a complete mess right now…I like you...but I need to get everything straight in my life. I definitely shouldn't have brought you here, this isn't you…"

"I don't care, I just want to see you happy Zuko. I don't want to see you using drugs to make you feel better either." Jin added.

He looked down at the ground, "I know…"

Jin moved closer and kissed his cheek, "I will be there for you if you need anything Zuko. Never hesitate to talk to me." The ride back to their houses was quiet. He made a couple occasional remarks about the bad driving of the other people on the road that made Jin laugh. Once he pulled up his driveway, he went ridged. Ty Lee stood by his basketball hoop, her sad eyes looking as him as he put the truck in park. "Are you-"

"I'll be fine…just go," His tone low, pain and sadness starting to get at him again. "I'll talk to you later." Jin nodded and got out along with him. He slowly walked over to his ex-girlfriend, their eyes never leaving each other's. "I honestly didn't think you would show your face to me for the longest time after I heard Azula gave you a verbal lashing."

"I…I needed closure," She finally spoke. With the many hours he had to himself to think about her, the next words that she would speak to him, Zuko never would have guessed those would be the first words out of her mouth. That _lying_, _cheating_, and _deceiving_ mouth of hers. Every fiber of his being wanted to yell every dirty word in the book at her.

Zuko put his keys in his pocket, "Good to know you know how to close something, you should work on your legs."

Her eyes closed at the insult, taking a breath before opening again, "That was mean Zuko…"

"I told you I loved you Ty," He nearly hissed, "I gave you my heart…and you cheated on me not even a week after I was finally able to tell you that I loved you. So I'm sorry if I'm a little mean to you."

"And how long did it take you to say that Zuko?" She finally found a strong tone, "Our whole relationship, even after we've slept together and called it making love…it took you until three days before I left on my trip."

He rolled his eyes, "I wonder why? Could it be the reason I told you when you first sprung it on me 3 months into our relationship that I have a little bit of a problem with that since those were the last words I said to my Mother before she died? I don't even tell that to my Uncle or my sister, what the fuck should make _you_ so special?"

"You and I had a romantic and physical relationship!" She argued.

Zuko gave her a slow clap, "Oh congratulations, you did something that I could do with my hand. At least it would shut up after I used it."

"Zuko, you're being a complete asshole," Tears started to form in her eyes. "If you're so 'hurt' for what I did to you, why is Jin attached to your hip?"'

"I'm being an asshole because I know this isn't the first time you've cheated Ty!" She lowered her head, "And I've been hanging out with Jin because at least she won't be nice to me and fuck anything behind my back."

Ty Lee looked back up at him, anger behind her teary eyes, "Fine Zuko." She walked down the driveway but stopped and turned to him, "Since you're being an ass, I guess I'll return the favor. The first person I cheated with was Sokka." He felt a wave of pain hit him as he stared at her, "Have a good life, ass."

He didn't have the concentration to think of a good come back, Zuko had already made a b-line towards his truck. To his surprise, he wasn't pulled over for nearly hitting 80 on the way back to Sokka's house. He didn't even bother parking it properly as he pulled up on the lawn. Slamming his door, Zuko quickly walked up the path and threw the doors open. Quickly finding Sokka in the kitchen with the rest of the group, he dove over the table and tackled him to the ground. He was able to land a few punches in Sokka's mid-section before the first hand was there to stop him. It took all of Aang, Katara and Toph's strength to hold Zuko back. "I'm going to murder you Sokka!"

"What's going on Zuko?" Katara asked, her voice strained as she held Zuko's right arm.

"I kind of slept with Ty Lee when they were together," Sokka answered. All three of them looked at the guilty teen, both Katara and Toph's glares turning angry and let go of his arms. Aang yelped when Zuko dragged him like nothing and used a double leg takedown on him, his fists returning to their previous actions. They let him go a little longer before holding him back again.

"Either let me beat him to a pulp or not!" Zuko growled.

"Well, you're going to have to learn how to suppress your hatred for my brother like the rest of us do: small bursts of random anger," Katara told him. "Now relax." Zuko finally went limp in their arms and sat back on a chair. Now it was the girl's turn to let him have it. "Sokka, how could you? Ty Lee was Zuko's girlfriend and you knowingly hurt your best friend."

Toph cracked her knuckles, "When did you sleep with her Snoozles? If you cheated on me, Zuko will seem like a walk in the park compared to me."

"It's was before you and me," He grunted as he got up, holding his chest, "We were both drunk Zuko, I swear. It's been eating me up inside ever since and I didn't want to break you and Ty up because you two were doing so good. I was going to end up telling you since you two broke up, but I've never really got the chance."

"It still doesn't change the fact that you slept with my slut of an ex," He never would have thought that he would ever talk about Ty Lee now or even when they were fighting. But he was worked up now and he would deal with it later. "You and Aang were both my closest guy friends, like brothers…but I can't ever forgive you for this Sokka. I'm sorry for starting a fight in your kitchen Katara." He told her as he left the room.

* * *

"That's rough," Suki said honestly, she took a sip of her smoothie. "But I can't say I'm surprised that he did."

"You're not really helping ya know," He replied, "I was waiting for the Suki that saw Sokka coming down the stairs with her panties, the one that was going to tear him a new one."

She smiled as she shrugged, "Well, maybe I'm just happy now."

Zuko took the smoothie from her hands, taking a drink, "Yeah, finally being out and proud turns the girl who once roundhouse kicked a girl in the face for attempting to take the shoes that you 'needed' into Mrs. Rodger's."

"At least she didn't press charges," Suki added.

"Because the only thing she had to describe you to the cops with was your size 7 shoe in her face," He handed her back the smoothie. "Anyways, are you and Yuki coming with us to the cabin? We're going to leave about a week early since Uncle gave me more time off."

"Of course we are, why do you think we're here? We're meeting Yuki here to get bikinis." She told him.

He cocked an eyebrow, "And why am I here?"

"Did you really just wonder why two girls asked you to come watch them try on bikinis?" Suki chuckled, "I thought it might cheer you up."

"Yeah, seeing a girl who is like my little sister trying on bikinis with her girlfriend is what really gets me off," He mumbled sarcastically. "Or maybe is because you want me to pay for said bikinis?"

She shrugged, "If the offer is on the table, I would take it. I bet if Jin was here, you would be happy to watch us try on bikinis." The thought of Jin in anything less than a tank top and shorts was something he didn't exactly want to think about in public. It would be a perfect way to make him forget about what happened earlier. "I know I wouldn't mind seeing it."

"Is that how you're going to be now?" Zuko asked. "Since coming out, you're going to make sexual comments about _all_ attractive girls?"

"When I do it, it's bad, but when you and the other guys do it, it's perfectly fine?" She poked him in the chest. "Yeah, double standard much."

"Oh, we're going to talk about double standards? Okay, how about when a girl kisses another girl, it's called experimenting, but when a guy kisses another guy, he's automatically gay?" Zuko questioned.

Suki smiled, "So you want to kiss guys now huh?"

Zuko realized the position he got himself into, "Never mind…" They made it to the store where Yuki was waiting outside for them. Both girls shared a small kiss, Zuko still wasn't used to seeing the two girls together like this and turned his gaze away from them.

Suki grabbed his arm, "Come on Zuko, you can't see our bikinis from out here." They sat him down in a seat in front of the dressing stalls and grabbed a few bikinis. No matter how many times Zuko said Suki was like a sister, the images he saw of her and Yuki in the skimpy bikinis would forever be burned into his mind. They would come out in small bikinis, the straps hugging their slim figures and walked out like fashion models and pose for him. Just to mess with him, they would share a sexy kiss every now and again, then ask how they looked. Screw water boarding, this was the worst torture of all. Though he had to admit, it got his mind off of Ty Lee and Sokka. After finding the 'right' bikinis, he stayed seated while they went to go pay. Suki came back to get him, "Come on stud, let's get going."

He looked down at his lap and took a breath, "Give me about a minute." Suki laughed as she waited. Once he was fully relaxed, he finally left the store with the two.

"Hey," They turned to see a guy come up to the girls, "I saw you girls in the shop and me and my friend were wondering if you wanted to come model those bikinis for us."

The girls shared a look before putting Zuko's arms over their shoulders, "Sorry, this is our boyfriend. The bikinis are for him."

"Oh, sorry man," The guy said to Zuko, "You're one lucky dude for having two hot girls like these."

"Uh yeah, I'm really lucky," Zuko agreed awkwardly. They all turned and left, the girls holding back their laughs. "You know, you two could have just told him that you two were lesbians."

"Yeah, but then we wouldn't be able to see your face," Yuki commented with a grin.

Suki smiled, "Isn't she just cute when she follows in my footsteps?"

* * *

_Zuko took relaxing breaths as he was lost in the world of his music. He laid on his Uncle's lawn chair as he sun tanned a little, hoping to gain a little color for when they went to the cabin. His mind continued to go back to Suki and Yuki in their bikinis, but listened to the lyrics to keep his mind from going any further. Zuko flipped over onto his back, trying to keep the tan as even as possible. His thumb tapped against the metal frame to the beat of the son. He was caught by surprise when he felt a pair of hands running up his back. Pulling the ear buds out, he turned to see who it was, but his face was pushed back to where it was. "Relax, it's just me." Jin giggled. "I'm not going to hurt you."_

_She straddled his waist, "Jin, what are you doing?"_

"_Doing what I know best," Her hands resting on his back, "I'm going to give you a back massage." Her thumbs started to work at his tension. "A nude back massage," Jin's bare chest pressed against his back. "After I help you…how about you help me?"_

Zuko shot up in the chair, unsure of whether or not he should be happy that was a dream. "Are you okay?" He looked over to Jin who was laying on the chair with him. "You seemed to be having a nightmare."

"Not exactly," Zuko rubbed his eyes, "What are you doing here?"

"Well, I've been waiting for you ever since we got back. I saw you take off and I waited until you got back. I waited a little bit after you got back and I came over, but you were asleep. So I decided to lay with you," Jin told him. "Also, I've been listening to your music," She showed him the ear bud. "You have a good taste in music. You should burn me some songs."

He laid back on the chair, realizing that now there was a umbrella keeping both of them in the shade above him. "Why are you cuddling with me?"

"I could not if you want me to." He didn't say anything, so she took it as an excuse to continue laying with him.

Zuko stroked the small of her back with his thumb as she continued to listen to his music, he thought back to his dream. With everything he had been through for the past week, Jin was simple to him. She cared for him and wanted to make him as happy as possible. Could him and Jin actually have a good relationship if he finally lowered his guard down once again? "How are your brother and Yue doing?" He decided to change the subject in his mind.

"Good, they just went on a date, apparently Yue gives tongue on the first date," Jin said.

He sarcastically gasped, "What a harlot." She chuckled. "How about you? What do you give on the first date?"

"I don't kiss and tell Zuko, you're going to have to find out yourself," Jin teased. "But if you _really _want to know…I show a little bra strap."

"Hot," Jin laughed even harder, he enjoyed her laugh. "On my first date, I make a random excuse to take off my shirt and show the girls the jaw dropper."

Her hand rubbed his chest, "I've already seen it and I have to say, it is quite a jaw dropper. You'll have to do something _very_ special for me then." Jin's face closer than usual.

"Yeah, um," He was lost for words as her smiling face inched closer. "I'll have…to, uh…think of something…"

Her eyes closed as her lips grazed his, but he didn't make a move. "Kiss me you idiot." Their lips met like the night before, but this time both of them were sober and Zuko pulled her body to his. Her kisses were so soft and delicious. They broke the kiss for a moment, looking into each other's eyes before their lips met again. She straddled his waist and pressed her chest against his. Their kisses started to slow until they stopped, "I will never get used to that."

Zuko moved a lock of her hair out of her face, "How would a vacation with me and the rest of the gang to our cabin sound to you?"

"Anything with you in it sounds great to me."

"You can invite your brother and Yue also, you'll just have to share a room with someone if we don't have enough room," Zuko said.

Jin grinned, "Do you think Aang and Katara will enjoy a third in their bed?"

"Too late, I'm their third, Aang really likes to hold onto a man," He joked, making Jin crack up. "Maybe we can just watch you and Katara go at it."

"You'd have to get me _really _drunk for that," She gave him a kiss, "Maybe for your birthday."

* * *

Zuko placed his bags in the back of his truck as Jin put her stuff beside his, "So you have to check in with your parents every day huh?" Jin gave him a glare, "What? I was just going to say that sucks…and ask when your bed time was."

"Don't tease the girl," Katara said, sitting on the edge of the bed of the truck. "I mean, it must be hard not to have your food made by Mommy and Daddy every night." The two laughed as Jin pouted. "We're only kidding Jin, me and Sokka had to do the exact same thing when we went before."

"It's fine Katara," Aang called from her car, "I don't need any help or anything!" They all turned to see all of Katara's bags falling out the back of the trunk when he tried to put his things in.

"You're doing fine Hun," She called back.

Zuko shut his door, "Go help your boy toy. I have to get the ice chest and the inner tubes." She sighed as she slid off the edge to go help Aang. He walked back into the garage, not knowing Jin was right behind him. Zuko grabbed the deflated tubes and turned into Jin's lips. They shared a small kiss before she pulled away. "What was that for?"

"I just wanted to kiss you." Jin told him. "I figured we wouldn't be able to for a while, you know, with everyone around."

He held her chin and kissed her again, "Just don't do it in front of your brother, I don't need a protective brother on me."

"So you think it's okay for us to…be kind of public?" She asked with a excited smiled.

Zuko paused for a moment, "I guess so. Whatever…_we_ are, yeah." He held her chin as he gave her a peck.

"Sexy," They both looked to see Suki standing there. "I knew you two would be cute together."

"Put these with our stuff," He handed the tubes to Jin. Zuko gave her a kiss on her cheek as she walked away. "Want to help me with the ice chest?"

"Sure…stud." She joked. They both grabbed a side and carried it outside. "I'm happy for you Zuko, it's good to know that you're moving on quick."

Zuko gave her a look, "You're the one that wanted me to be with Jin and I'm doing what is going to make me happy. I had no problem with your little secret and that is at least 2 leaps ahead of what I'm doing. Just let me be happy."

"Jeez Zuko, I'm just yanking your chain," She laughed as they put the chest in the back of the truck, Zuko securing it with bungee cords. "I'm happy for you two. Can't wait to see her in a bikini," She whispered as she walked over to her car.

Ken and Yue walked up the drive past the cars, "Ready to go there Sparky?"

"Don't use Toph's nicknames," Zuko groaned as Ken and Yue got into the back of the truck.

"Sorry man," Ken apologized before he put his arm around Yue's shoulders, "But we're set to go."

Zuko saw that everyone else seemed ready to go. He climbed into his truck, Jin already buckled up and ready to go. As they all started to leave, Zuko turned on his truck and sat there for a moment, lost in his thoughts. Jin's hand went over his, "Hey, you okay?" He looked at her smiling face, his spotlight in the darkness of his life. Zuko smiled and nodded, he reversed out of the driveway and grabbed her hand, interlacing their fingers. She leaned her head against his shoulder as they led the way to the cabin.

**-SDB**


End file.
